Search underway for 2 kayakers in waters off Sidney, B.C.: RCMP

RCMPsay two kayakers are missing in waters near Sidney, B.C., located just north of Victoria, and a search is underway.

The Sidney/North Saanich RCMP is asking for the public's help locating two men who went missing while kayaking from D'Arcy Island to View Beach on Saturday afternoon.

Mounties say the men were in a teal blue fibreglass, two-person, tandem kayak.

They are identified as Daniel MacAlpine, 36, and Nicolas West, 26. Both are white, RCMP say.

MacAlpine is described as standing five feet 10 inches tall and weighing 150 pounds, while West is described as being six feet five inches tall and weighing 170 pounds.

RCMP say members of Central Saanich Police Department and Peninsula Emergency Measures Organization search and rescue are involved in the search, andthe Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre and Canadian Coast Guard are assisting.

D'Arcy Island, once a leprosy colony from 1891 to 1924, now is part of a national park reserve in Haro Strait, about 17 kilometres from Victoria, and is a popular location for kayakers and campers.