SANTO DOMINGO.- A Canadian man missing since last Friday still has not been found, and is feared dead by family and friends, according to Canadian news reports.

Hady Quan, 32, of Vancouver, British Columbia, and his girlfriend were pulled out to sea by a riptide while attempting to rescue a drowning man. The couple were staying at the Excellence Punta Cana Resort and Spa.

Quan’s girlfriend Tiffany Weiland was able to swim back to shore, Quan’s friend Marius Purcel told the Vancouver Sun in an interview Sunday. Rescuers were able to recover the drowning man, who may have later died, according to some reports.

Purcel said Weiland contacted the Canadian embassy in the Dominican Republic “within hours” of Quan’s disappearance, but said that as of Sunday, the embassy still had not offered any real assistance. Quan’s family and friends, including Purcel, told the Sun they have had to finance the search and rescue operation themselves, renting boats and all-terrain vehicles and even helicopters to sweep the coastline.

Dominican Today placed repeated calls to local units of the tourist police and navy but was unable to obtain any new information about the search. Ordinary Seaman Familia Recio with the Dominican naval post at El Cortacito in Punta Cana said the staff had no knowledge of the incident.

The Canadian embassy in Santo Domingo could not be reached for comment, but a spokesperson for the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs told the Sun the embassy was aware of Quan’s disappearance and working with local authorities to provide assistance.