Searchers have found the body of a man who disappeared Tuesday after arriving at Crofton’s Catalyst pulp-and-paper mill to deliver wood chips.

Perry Vernon Thomas, 66, of Qualicum Beach was discovered Thursday in one of the mill’s storage silos, which is where it was suspected he would be found.

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Thomas was a truck driver with Bobell Express Ltd.

The B.C. Coroners Service said Thomas delivered wood chips to Catalyst about 5 p.m. Tuesday, and workers reported about half an hour later that he could not be located.

The mill’s emergency services were contacted and a search was launched immediately.

The silo where the body was found is connected by a conveyor belt over 300 metres long to the area where Thomas was delivering his load. The coroner, the RCMP and WorkSafe B.C. are all involved in the investigation.

WorkSafe B.C. spokesman Scott McCloy said he can’t recall anything like this happening at any mill in the province.

“This is very disturbing,” he said.

“Trucks back up to these kinds of facilities on a regular basis in pulp mills across the province every day. I’ve been here more than 20 years and I can’t remember a similar kind of incident.”

Joe Nemeth, Catalyst Paper’s president and CEO, said in a statement that everyone at the company is saddened by Thomas’s “tragic accident.”

“We extend our heartfelt sympathies to his family and friends during this difficult time.”

McCloy said WorkSafe B.C. will do all it can to determine what happened.

“In virtually all traumatic fatality injuries, we conduct an investigation,” he said. “Our investigations team has been there since Tuesday afternoon, and we’ll continue to be there until such time as they have concluded their evidence-gathering and their interviews with various parties.”

He said the investigation will take from several weeks to a few months.

“This is a ‘cause’ investigation. In other words, we want to find out what happened, why it happened, how it happened and how it can be prevented in the future.”

That means there will be a particular focus on where Thomas was, what he was doing and why he was doing it, McCloy said.

“It is not in any way intended to put any blame on the worker, but clearly we have to determine why he was where he was. How did he fall into the hopper and then get transported through the inner workings of the mill into the silo, and how can we prevent that from happening again in the future to another worker?”

jwbell@timescolonist.com