Search halted, investigation remains ongoing for missing Buena Vista man

This has turned into quite a mystery.

Here are  a few highlights of a recent story from WSLS-10 Virgina.

BUENA VISTA, Va. - Thirty-year-old Chad Austin, of Buena Vista, has been missing since Memorial Day weekend, when he was last seen near Route 60 in the Panther Falls area. His car, a 2006 Hyundai Tiburon, was found in the area a few days after he was last seen with his dog, Gunner, locked inside.

Officers from eight agencies, including Virginia State Police and the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, combed the area on the Rockbridge/Amherst county line from sunup to sundown Saturday to find any trace they could of Chad Austin.

“This is extremely unusual for Chad to have gone this long without communicating with his family or close friends,” said Buena Vista Police Chief Richard Hartman. “It’s also very out-of-character for Chad to have left Gunner behind and put at risk by being left inside a locked vehicle. Chad’s family says the two have been inseparable since Chad got him as a puppy and would never willingly let any harm come of him or to any animal, for that matter.”

Participating in search operations since last week have been the Amherst County Sheriff's Office, Virginia State Police, Virginia Department of Emergency Management, Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, U.S. Forest Service, Black Diamond Search and Rescue, Piedmont Search and Rescue, Blue Ridge Mountain Rescue, Search and Rescue Tracking Institute, Dogs East Search and Rescue, Shenandoah Mountain Rescue, Cambridgeshire Search and Rescue and MId-Atlantic Dogs. Also participating with support operations during Saturday's search were the American Red Cross, Rockbridge-Area Community Emergency Response Team, VMI Emergency Management and Virginia Communications Cache - Montgomery.

Read the article with links to previous articles and updates here.

Be safe, be prepared and be rescued.