Australian hiker missing in Nova Scotia national park not heard from for two weeks

A search is continuing for a 62-year-old Australian woman who was reported missing on Tuesday while hiking in a Canadian national park. Denise Ann Williams was last heard from on 15 April, when she told family she was travelling to Chéticamp, a fishing village on the west coast of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. Her rental car, a Nissan Sentra, was found at the Parks Canada visitor centre at the start of the Acadian trail head, an 8.4km loop at Cape Breton Highlands national park. A local said on social media they “walk in the park every other day and her vehicle has not moved in probably two weeks”. The park, which hugs a rocky coastline, is known to contain moose, coyotes and black bears. The Acadian trail is described on its website as a track of “moderate” difficulty, with “elevation gain and some short, steep sections”. It is estimated to take between three and four hours to complete. Phone reception in the park is patchy. “Hike with friends and a solid walking stick,” the website advises. “If you choose to walk alone, tell somebody where you are going.” The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in Inverness Country said they received a call at about 9.30am local time on 28 April reporting Williams as missing. They released images of her in a bid for public help, along with a physical description describing her as “5-foot-4 with greyish blonde, shoulder length hair”. …