B.C. mountaineer missing in Italy is seasoned survivalist, MLA says

A British Columbia legislature member who went to law school with missing mountaineer Kalie McCrystal says the woman’s family and friends are “sitting by the phone” as they await updates on the search in Italy.

Penticton-Summerland MLA Amelia Boultbee says she’s known McCrystal for a long time and says she’s “not just your average hiker,” and her disappearance while attempting to break a mountain-running record on the Matterhorn last week remains a mystery.

Boultbee says she’s been in touch with McCrystal’s sister and mother who are in Italy and they’ve been working mostly with Italian authorities.

She says the decision to suspend the search has been “very upsetting,” and the last time she was spotted via telescope before going missing showed no signs of any troubles.