Kananaskis Mounties are looking for public help to find Kevin Kennedy, 59, who went missing in the Highwood Pass area during a hike on Aug. 21, 2011. Ground and air searches since have failed to turn up any sign of the missing Australian. Photo courtesy Kananaskis RCMP. (Handout)

CALGARY - It’s been more than a year since Australian hiker Kevin Kennedy vanished without a trace in Kananaskis Country.

In spite of a massive effort undertaken by various search and rescue groups and even the man’s own family and friends, authorities are still nowhere close to solving his disappearance.

With a long weekend looming, RCMP on Thursday re-issued a plea for hikers to be vigilant for any clothing or signs that could prove relevant to the case.

“We’ve had people bring in a toque here not that long ago and we made inquiries to see if it was his toque and it wasn’t,” said Cpl. Jane Boehr, who suspects Kennedy has died.

“Maybe he went off the beaten trail and into some treed area and something happened to him there,” she said.

“We haven’t found a clue yet, so we’re still looking for something that will give us some idea to his location.”

Kennedy, 59, was reported overdue Aug. 21, 2011 in the Highwood Pass area of Peter Lougheed Provincial Park after setting out to hike over Grizzly Col, a remote trail, and complete the Tyrwitt loop.

Kennedy has an Australian accent, is 6-feet-tall with grey, thinning hair and was last seen wearing glasses, a light blue shirt, khaki shorts, brown/orange fleece and a dark coloured hat. He was carrying a blue backpack and a navy blue raincoat.

michael.wood@sunmedia.ca