FRIDAY HARBOR — The group that has been tracking southern resident killer whales since the 1970s says a calf in one of the three pods is missing and thought to be dead.

The Center for Whale Research in Friday Harbor, Wash., says it followed J pod in the Swanson Channel that runs through B.C.'s Gulf Islands but saw no sign of the calf designated as J64.

The organization says in a statement on social media that the team on the water on Oct. 23 saw J42, the calf's mother, but the months-old calf was not with her.

The statement says they hoped it may have been nursing or with another group, but there was no sign of the young whale.

Based on the encounter, the organization says it is most likely that J64 is deceased.

The group says it will continue to monitor future encounters with the pod

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