Friends and family of Trevor Roseborough, who grew up in Victoria, are marking the second anniversary of his disappearance in Mexico with a renewed effort to raise awareness about the case.
Roseborough was 51 when he went missing near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. His last contact with friends and family was on Jan. 27, 2012, about the time his bank account was emptied.
He had spent the previous few years living on his 26-foot sailboat in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle over the winter and returning to Victoria for summers.
Police have little to go on, said Cpl. Richard Dejong of North Vancouver RCMP.
“He is on Canada’s missing person website and the file still is open and we’re still looking for any tips that could come in,” Dejong said.
Roseborough’s sister, Gwynne Roseborough of West Vancouver, said he was actively trying to sell his sailboat. At the end of January 2012, he left his boat with a broker and vanished.
“I’ve been down there three times,” she said. “We canvassed, we postered everywhere. I had an interpreter and we went along the coastline and talked to locals.
“I feel that he did go travelling and maybe something happened along the way.”
Friend Oriano Belusic of Victoria said he has no idea what happened to Roseborough.
Hope faded as time passed. Roseborough was known as an extremely self-sufficient, independent individual. But his lack of contact with family was worrying.
“During Trevor’s adventures, he would never go more than a few days without dropping me a quick email or a quick Skype call,” Belusic said. The lack of contact was “very disconcerting.”
Belusic wants to let Greater Victoria residents know about Roseborough’s disappearance because it hasn’t been widely publicized. “We are mystified and mourning, as it seems there is nothing family or friends can do until a lead presents itself,” Belusic said.
Roseborough is well known in Victoria, Belusic said. He attended Victoria High, the University of Victoria and was president of a judo club here for many years. Roseborough also served with the Canadian Scottish Regiment.
“Trevor was one of those people who had an ingenious ability to fix things, be they mechanical or electrical,” Belusic said. “He was skilled and able to repair motors, marine electric equipment, computers and more, and he was always ready and able to lend a friend a helping hand.”
In Mexico, Roseborough might have made a living by fixing someone’s motor or offering sailing lessons, Belusic said.
He worries that someone took advantage of Roseborough’s openness and it ended badly.
Mill Bay dentist Norman Stewart has been “very firm friends” with Roseborough since the two met through judo. “I guess you could say he’s quite eccentric in that he’s extremely smart,” Stewart said. It “was part of his genius” to keep engines and computers running, he said.
Roseborough bought his sailboat from a Los Angeles man for $10, Stewart said.
It was worrying that funds were removed from Roseborough’s bank account at about the time he went missing, Stewart said.
“He just disappeared off the face of the Earth,” he said.
There’s “no way” Roseborough would willingly get mixed up with criminals, Stewart said. “He wouldn’t do that — something’s wrong.”
A Facebook page is available for anyone wanting more information. It’s at facebook.com/findtrevor.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact North Vancouver RCMP at 604-985-1311 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
