Australian hiker Julia-Mary Lane vanishes in Canada country

Authorities in Canada are searching for an Australian woman after she vanished during a hiking trip in bear country.

Julia-Mary Lane, 24, was reported missing on Monday by her housemate after she failed to return from a hiking trip on Bear Lake Trail near Kimberely, British Columbia, ABC News said.

Lane – who goes by JM – was last seen on Saturday afternoon and was visiting the region from Canmore Alberta, her housemate shared on social media.

“Disappearing like this is completely out of character for JM. [Her family is] normally in contact with her daily and have not heard from her since Saturday morning,” the housemate, Janet Hamilton, wrote on a community Facebook group.

In an update several hours later, Lane’s brother Conor said that his sister’s roommate in Alberta also had not heard from her.

Lane’s Ford Escape SUV was found at Bear Lake, The Guardian reported. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) are now searching the area around the vehicle.

“She’s very well-traveled, she’s fit, she’s capable…the worry is there’s unstable ground and she’s had a fall and there’s bears around,” Lane’s mother, Rosalind Lane, told ABC News.

She added that the family will “quite probably” travel to Canada to aid the search, but they are “trying not to think of the worst-case scenario”.

“I just hope she comes home safely,” the distraught mother said.

Lane is originally from Brisbane, and moved to Canada in January, ABC News noted. At the time of her disappearance, she was planning to start a new job in finance.

She is the youngest of four children, and messaged her older sister most mornings.

The University of Queensland graduate last spoke to her father on Saturday morning Australian time, the outlet said.

A few days before she vanished, Lane posted in a Facebook group looking for hiking advice in the Bear Lake area, The Guardian reported.

“I’m visiting from Canmore for a few days and would love to join any moderate to challenging hikes anyone has planned,” she wrote. 

“I am comfortable hiking solo but would prefer to go with a group to minimize bear risk of course.”