**UPDATE: Family of the deceased confirm the younger victim was 50 years old, not 60 as RCMP originally reported**
The search for an 85-year-old rancher southwest of Claresholm ended in tragedy with the discovery of the bodies of the missing man and the man's son, a member of the search party.
Members of the Claresholm RCMP responded to a rural location southwest of Claresholm Thursday night after family members reported an 85-year-old rancher missing. The man was last seen in town on Wednesday.
RCMP, firefighters and search & rescue personnel scoured the rancher’s land, located roughly 15 kilometres outside of town, for any sign of the man who often used an ATV to check on his livestock. The man’s 50-year-old son joined the search effort on foot.
Early Friday morning, the son’s body was discovered on the property. RCMP believe the man succumbed to a medical event but the Office of the Medical Examiner will determine the official cause of death.
Several hours later, the search party located the rancher’s body. Officers suspect the 85-year-old man died of natural causes.
The identities of the deceased have not been released.
