Body of Australian hiker who went missing in Canada bear country is discovered

Julia-Mary Lane, 24, disappeared while on a hike at Bear Lake, British Columbia

The body of an Australian hiker who had gone missing in Canadian bear country has been found.

Julia-Mary Lane, 24, disappeared while on a hike at Bear Lake, near Kimberley, British Columbia, according to her family. Ms Lane is originally from Brisbane but has been living in Alberta since January and took the trip before starting a job in finance.

“Unfortunately, searchers found the woman, deceased,” Canadian authorities said in a statement, adding: “The death is not considered suspicious.”

According to Royal Canadian Mounted Police corporal James Grandy, the death appears to be accidental.

“All evidence of the scene shows she accidentally maybe lost her footing,” he told The Guardian.

When she failed to return from the hike, her Canadian roommate, Janet Hamilton, contacted Ms Lane’s family and alerted the authorities. Her Garmin watch shows that her last activity was on a hike on Friday near Marysville, British Columbia.

Lane’s Ford Escape vehicle was later found at Bear Lake and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have launched a search and rescue effort.

“She’s very well-travelled, she’s fit, she’s capable … the worry is there’s unstable ground and she’s had a fall and there’s bears around,” her mother, Rosalind Lane told Australia’s ABC.

She added that family members “will quite probably” travel to Canada and are “trying not to think of the worst-case scenario”.

“I just hope she comes home safely,” Mrs Lane said.

Before disappearing, Ms Lane had posted to a Facebook group looking for hiking recommendations in the area.

“I’m visiting from Canmore for a few days and would love to join any moderate to challenging hikes anyone has planned,” she wrote. “I am comfortable hiking solo but would prefer to go with a group to minimise bear risk of course.”

(Facebook)

Ms Hamilton took to Facebook to say that her roommate’s family were “all very worried” about her.

“Disappearing like this is completely out of character for JM,” she wrote. “They are normally in contact with her daily and have not heard from her since Saturday morning.”

Ms Lane’s brother, Conor, wrote on social media on Tuesday that the search was concentrated on the area where her car was found.

“Last we heard from her she was on a hike/heading for a hike,” he wrote. “Please reach out and let me know if you have seen her or have any info on where she might be.”