Huge update in search for missing Australian woman who vanished without a trace in the Canadian wilderness

By ASHLEY NICKEL, NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA and KYLIE STEVENS, SENIOR BREAKING NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 11:20, 5 May 2026 | Updated: 11:20, 5 May 2026 The search for an Australian hiker lost in the Canadian wilderness has been suspended after six days.  Authorities held grave fears for Denise Ann Williams, a 62-year-old from Victoria, after vanished while hiking in Cape Breton Highlands National Park in the Nova Scotia province. She told family on April 15 that she was travelling to Chéticamp, a fishing village on Cape Breton Island, and has not been heard from since. She was reported missing last Tuesday local time, sparking an air and ground search spearheaded by Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed on Sunday, local time, 'no further search activity is planned at this time'. 'The search for a missing hiker in Cape Breton Highlands National Park has been suspended following an extensive six-day air and ground search of the area,' it said in a statement.  Ms Williams' rental Nissan Sentra was located at a visitor centre near the start of the Acadian Trail, an 8.4km loop in the Cape Breton Highlands National Park.  The trail has 'moderate' difficulty rating, according to the Parks Canada website. Denise Ann Williams (above) vanished while hiking in Canada's Nova Scotia province Her car was located near the Acadian Trail in Cape Breton National Park (above) Cape Breton Highlands National Park is known for its rugged and steep coastline, where hikers are warned to be vigilant for moose and black bears.  'Bears are coming out of hibernation. It's also mating season,' Nova Scotia police corporal Mandy Edwards told the ABC. Temperatures have fluctuated between zero and 10C in recent days, with strong winds and snow forecast for this weekend. The difficult terrain is also hampering search efforts.  'We have very mountainous terrain here,' Chéticamp Search and Rescue president Chris Bellmore told CBC News. 'There's a lot of water here and there's actually still snow up here in the Highlands and in some areas that makes it a bit of a challenge to search.'  A massive multiagency search was launched following reports of the missing 62-year-old.  The Department of Natural Resources helicopter crews, police dog units, Civil Air Search and Rescue Association, Parks Canada, Nova Scotia Public Safety Field Communications, and EHS Emergency Preparedness and Special Operations were all involved. The search for Ms Williams (above) was called off on Sunday  Ms Williams is described as 162cm tall with greyish-blonde, shoulder-length hair. She was wearing a dark winter jacket, a powder blue beanie with 'Antarctica' written on it, an orange and blue scarf, and glasses. Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade last week confirmed consular assistance was being provided to Ms Williams' family. 'Owing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment,' a department spokesperson said. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.