'Bizarre' disappearance ... Australian nuclear scientist Lachlan Cranswick has vanished without trace in Canada. ‘‘Every bit of information that we have received has been followed up on. We’re at the stage now where we have no new information, we have no leads, no tips and no explanations whatsoever,’’ lead investigator Darin Faris, of the Deep River Police Service, said. Mr Cranswick moved to Deep River, a town of 4200 people, to start work at the facility seven years ago. The reactor, which was used in the Manhattan Project during World War II and is home to about 2700 employees, is both a research site and production centre for medical radioisotopes. On the question of foul play, Officer Faris said a thorough search of Mr Cranswick’s computer records, storage devices, laptop and house uncovered ‘‘nothing that points to him either looking at suicide or anybody that would like to do harm to him’’.

‘‘This guy’s got more [gigabytes] of storage device than anybody I’ve ever seen and we found nothing ... [W]e’ve got no evidence that he wanted to take his own life or somebody wanted to take it for him,’’ he said. ‘‘If he went out in thick pair of boots, a heavy coat, fur hat and probably gloves and was hit by a car on the street and you wanted to take the body, would you be smart enough to think, ‘Oh my god, I’ve got to get him out of here’, and look for the hat that came off his head or the boots that came off his feet? It’s highly unlikely you’d look for the hat. ‘‘Or if you’re in the bush and the wolves and coyotes got to you and physically ate you, they’re not going to eat your coat or your boots. ‘‘We found nothing. We didn’t find a hat. We didn’t find a glove. We didn’t find boots. We found nothing. That’s the part that’s puzzling us.’’ Chris Knight, president of the Deep River Curling and Squash Club and the person who found Mr Cranswick was missing, said the scientist was a committed, long-term member of the club executive.

He said he and Mr Cranswick had been in close contact over many years and there was nothing in his recent behaviour or frame of mind that foreshadowed his disappearance. ‘‘That’s the part that really mystifies all of us who knew him well,’’ Mr Knight told . ‘‘There were no signs that there was anything strange going on or that he wasn’t up to the tasks that he normally performed.’’ He said Mr Cranswick worked at a function at the curling club the weekend before his disappearance and emailed Mr Knight the following day to say everything went well. He then deposited the money in the bank on Monday, but failed to show up for a curling meeting at the end of the week. ‘‘That’s when I went to the house to find it unlocked and nobody there. I then rang the police,’’ Mr Knight said.

‘‘I went out on a snowmobile on that first night to look along ski trails and there were just no signs. In fact, police brought in sniffer dogs to try and find the scent and they didn’t come up with anything either.’’ Rupert Cranswick, Lachlan’s Melbourne-based brother, spent two weeks in Deep River speaking to residents and claims police wasted time searching the surrounding forests and ski trails. He said Mr Cranswick, who was last seen on Monday, January 18, after taking the company bus back into town and then walking home, would never have gone hiking at night during winter. His car was still in the garage, his keys, wallet and passport had not been stolen, nor was his home disturbed. "It just looks like he went to put out his bins and he vanished from there," Rupert said.

"I talked to lots of the locals there and they think something extraordinary happened to him. "He loved his work. He lived for his work there. He loved it so much he didn’t want to come back to Australia. ‘‘It’s just such a strange thing. It’s like he’s been taken off the planet.’’ However, Mr Knight said it was not unusual for Mr Cranswick to be out of contact for a number of days, adding that the reactor where he worked was being repaired. Loading

‘‘With the reactor down, it’s not unusual for those guys to take a few days off and do other things. I understand he had vacation leave and needed to use some up.’’ The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was providing assistance to Canadian authorities.