TOFINO, B.C. — An 8-year-old Bellingham boy disappeared Friday morning while vacationing with his parents on the west side of Vancouver Island.

The boy was last seen just after 10 a.m. on a beach at the edge of Tonquin Park, according to Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He apparently was playing near the shoreline about 35 feet from his parents just before he disappeared.

The boy’s parents, David and Camilla Pilkenton, were in shock after the disappearance of their son William, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt. Dave Lucas said.

“I don’t know what a big enough word is,” Lucas said as he tried to describe the parents’ anguish.

By evening, search crews had lit a bonfire where the boy was last seen.

Garth Cameron of Westcoast Inland Search and Rescue said it was the biggest search in the area in a long time.

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.

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

The ground searchers were aided by a Canadian military helicopter. Local aircraft from Atleo Airlines and Tofino Air took part in the search, as did local boaters.