The family of Preet Khangura say they think foul play was involved in the disappearance of the 29-year-old Abbotsford man earlier this month.
Bhagatpreet (Preet) Singh Khangura was last seen April 3 at the Earl’s restaurant in Chilliwack after a lunch meeting.
His truck, a black 2014 Ford F-350, was found parked near the Fraser River off the Yale Road West exit.
Friend Amrit Saggu says that the family has offered a $25,000 reward for information that leads to locating Khangura, whom they believe is still alive.
Chilliwack RCMP have only said they are very concerned for the missing man’s well-being and believe he may be in need of medical attention. But Saggu said, “We think there was foul play involved and there was someone who picked him up.”
Khangura is a successful businessman, he said, who helped run his family’s nursery business, but had no criminal history according to Saggu.
“This is not gang-related at all,” Saggu posted online. “He is my childhood friend. He’s never been involved in any illegal activity or drugs. He’s worked very hard and honest since we shared our first paper route together.”
Saggu said extensive search efforts have been made since Khangura’s disappearance, to no avail. More than a dozen search and rescue personnel scoured the area where Khangura’s truck was found, several boats have toured the river looking for any sign of the missing man, and K-9 and helicopter units have also been deployed.
It was raining on the day of Khangura’s disappearance, but Saggu thinks it’s unlikely his friend would have risked climbing down towards the river’s edge near where his truck was discovered. He said Khangura also acted normally immediately prior to his disappearance, picking up a coffee at Tim Horton’s following his departure from Earl’s.
Although Khangura was last seen April 3, his family didn’t grow worried until the start of the following week. Khangura had been known to travel on a moment’s notice, and when he missed a dinner Friday night, his friends thought he may have just gone into Vancouver for the long weekend. Although his truck was reported to police three times between Friday and Monday, Mounties didn’t tell the family. Saggu said police later said they thought the truck may have belonged to someone who was camping.
The disappearance has darkened the world of Khangura’s family and friends. “It’s a natural reaction to reach for my phone and try to call Preet, and every time I do, it kills me,” said Saggu.
“If Preet was here, he’d be telling me … that everything happens for God’s will,” he said. “At the same time, we’re making all the efforts possible to retrieve our friend.
Khangura, 29, is South Asian, 188 cm (6’2”), 100 kg (221 lbs) with black hair and brown eyes.