FAMILY SEARCHES INTO THE NIGHT: DARIUS, 6, STILL MISSING AFTER FAMILY CAMPING TRIP

Crime Stories with Nancy Grace

iHeartPodcasts and CrimeOnline

News, True Crime

3.9 • 7.6K Ratings

🗓️ 6 December 2025

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

6-year-old Darius MacDougal is on a family camping trip with his dad, grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, cousins, as well as his dad's girlfriend, Buffy, and her daughter, Kya. The family gathers to celebrate multiple family birthdays at the same time while camping in the Crowsnest Pass, an area of great natural beauty with rivers, creeks, hiking areas, and small islands close to shore where the children love to play.

As the family's are packing up the camping gear to head home, Darius, Kya, and a cousin are on a small island directly across from the camping area, in clear view of all the adults. In the blink of an eye, Darius is gone. The children tell the adults they were all together, turned their back for a second and Darius is gone. Darius' father and grandfather immediately begin searching, each going different directions on the small island to cover the entire area, planning to find Darius before they meet in the middle.

Searching the island and screaming his name, Darius seems to have vanished into thin air. 911 is called and within 20 minutes a command post is set-up and organized searches by the RCMP Search and Rescue begins.

Joining Nancy Grace today:

Anne Bremner - Trial lawyer, Legal Analyst, and Author: “Justice in the Age of Judgment;" X: @annembremner, Instagram: @Anne_Bremner
Caryn Stark - Forensic Psychologist, Renowned TV and Radio Trauma expert and Consultant; Instagram: carynpsych, FB: Caryn Stark Private Practice
Dr. Trace Sargent - Search, Rescue & Recovery Expert, PhD in Psychology (with a focus on victimology - criminal profiling - predator behaviors - crime scene analysis); Director of Forensic Investigations and Analysis
Brian Fitzgibbons - Former Marine and Iraq War Veteran, Director of Operations for USPA Nationwide Security (leads a team of investigators specializing in locating missing persons); Instagram: @uspa_nationwide_security
Stephen Tipper - Southern Alberta Reporter for Postmedia
Dave Mack - Crime Stories Investigative Reporter

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is an I-Heart podcast.
0:02.3	Guaranteed Human.
0:04.6	Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.
0:10.8	We searched into the night, says a desperate family after little Darius, just six years old,
0:19.6	vanishes on an extended family camping trip.
0:24.8	How could a little six-year-old boy vanish into thin air while the adults were watching
0:32.0	him play with other children?
0:34.3	I'm Nancy Grace.
0:35.3	This is Crime Stories.
0:36.5	I want to thank you for being with us.
0:38.3	What was meant to be a peaceful family getaway in the wilderness of Alberta, Canada, has turned into a devastating mystery. The McDougal family, eager to create lasting memories, was thrown into chaos when one of the young children wandered off. I have taken the children from a very young age all across the country, RVing and camping.
1:02.8	I'm not sure how you lose a child on a camping trip, but it's happened a lot. This isn't the first time a child has gone missing on a camping trip.
1:14.7	The parents, the grandparents, there was extended family or family friends there.
1:20.0	They were all packing to leave and go back home.
1:24.0	And you know, when you're packing, packing up the RV or the station wagon or the SUV, you turn your back, right?
1:32.6	You're loading it up.
1:34.0	Everything's running crazy.
1:36.5	But how could a little boy vanish into thin air and be gone so quickly he can't be found. Okay, let's start at the beginning. Listen.
1:48.2	Six-year-old Darius on a camping trip with dad, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins,
1:53.3	dad's girlfriend, Buffy, and her daughter, Kaya. The family gathers to celebrate family
1:57.4	birthdays, camping in Crow's Nest Pass with rivers creeks hiking areas and small islands
2:02.8	close to shore where the children love to play let me just start right there because i need to
	...

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