The boy, William Pilkenton, 7, was last seen Friday at about 10 a.m. playing on a rocky beach near Tofino, on Vancouver Island's western coast. His father turned his attention away for a few minutes and when he turned back, the boy was gone.

Police and volunteer searchers fanned out across the Vancouver Island community of Tofino and nearby woods and beaches looking for the boy (pictured at right). Officials said it was one of the biggest searches ever launched in British Columbia.

Searchers have looked tirelessly for the boy since Friday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police say the boy's parents, David and Camilla Pilkenton, were in shock after the disappearance of their son, William.

"I don't know what a big enough word is," RCMP Sgt. Dave Lucas said as he tried to describe the parents' anguish.

Some people reported seeing the boy in town after he disappeared, but searchers hadn't ruled out the possibility he might have been swept into the water.

Authorities said it also was possible he could be lost in the nearby forest or was the victim of foul play.

"He was about 40 feet from the water's edge. We're really hoping he wandered off into the woods," said Sgt. Dave Lucas of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

"No signs, no witnesses, no footprints, no concrete evidence of him being in town," said Garth Cameron of Westcoast Inland Search and Rescue.

RCMP say the area where David and William Pilkenton were walking on the beach was rocky, slippery and wet with recent rain and the ocean breaks onto the rocks where William was last seen.

The boy was wearing a red jacket, multicolored fleece, blue jeans and black rubber boots.

Search volunteers were told William suffers from attention deficit disorder and that he did take his regular medication this morning.

The ground searchers were aided by a Canadian military helicopter. An RCMP helicopter with infrared capacity to detect body heat also flew over the area on Saturday.

Local aircraft from Atleo Airlines and Tofino Air took part in the search, as did local boaters.

Lucas said searchers have searched all of the local playgrounds and asked people in Tofino to stay on the lookout.

His parents stayed secluded Saturday in a bed and breakfast and reporters who approached the house were asked to leave by police.

Tofino is on the west coast of Vancouver Island, north of Pacific Rim National Park.

The boy's neighbors in Bellingham say he has wandered off before.

"Not very far," said neighbor Craig Bart. "It's a pretty good neighborhood where everybody knows each other. And so we've tracked him down. We were able to call his name and he answers. It's been once or twice that he has wondered off."