Ben Tyner, missing since January 2019 from Merritt area ranch. (submitted photo/RCMP)

By Vernon Matters/Canadian Press

Missing since 2019

Reward increased for information on missing cowboy

Mar 16, 2021 | 11:46 AM

The family of missing Merritt-area ranch manager Ben Tyner has announced an increase in the size of the reward for information about him that could also lead to charges in his suspected death.

In a post on Facebook, Jen Tyner said the reward has grown to $30,000 after the owner of a Merritt ranch added $15,000 to the total.

The 33-year-old was last seen leaving the Nicola Ranch on horseback in January 2019 and his body has never been found.

His riderless horse was found unharmed a few days later and police say they believe Tyner is the victim of homicide.

Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey, spokesman for the BC RCMP in the Southeast District, said back in January, the investigation into Tyner’s disappearance by the Major Crime Unit continues.

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“To date, numerous investigational avenues have been explored, and in order to protect the ongoing investigation police are unable to share those findings publicly at this time. However, based on those findings, major crime investigators have reason to believe that criminality was involved in Ben Tyner’s disappearance, and is the victim of a homicide, O’Donaghey stated.

The following video was issued by the Tyner family in January 2021 on the two-year anniversary of Ben’s disappearance.