When Andrew Kamara didn't answer his phone last Wednesday, his fiancé didn't think much of it at first.

Tracey Price was at a Tim Hortons conference in Whistler that day, and she just assumed Kamara was at work and didn't hear the phone ring.

But several hours went by, and still no word from her fiancé.

By nighttime, Price was getting worried, but didn't know what to think.

After a restless sleep, she got up first thing that morning and headed back to the Coquitlam apartment the couple shared.

Kamara's cellphone was still charging in the wall and his glasses were still in the apartment.

Maybe he was out for a run, Price thought.

But after touching the bed and his towel and finding them cold, she quickly realized he never made it home.

Price went straight to the RCMP detachment.

That's when she was told the unthinkable.

The 58-year-old had been killed after being hit by a car while jogging along East Road in Anmore the previous morning.

"We were so in love"

Andrew Kamara and Tracey Price met about a year and a half ago in a way many couples meet each other these days, through an online dating site.

The two were divorced and had grown kids, while he was also a grandfather.

Price wasn't looking for a relationship, just a companion.

She almost gave up until she got a message from Kamara, who at the time was living in Vancouver.

They were both runners and the two hit it off instantly.

"We were so in love," Price told The NOW on Monday.

Their first date was a run around the Sea Wall.

In the months that followed, the couple would do almost everything together, especially running.

Kamara came to the sport at an older age.

He started running at the age of 45 when he first moved to Vancouver from Ontario.

Kamara, who was working as a security guard at the U.S. consulate, signed up for a running class, but he was so quick, he joined a competitive running group shortly after called the Vancouver Falcons.

"He was very fit. We became very fit together," Price said.

Kamara would eventually run nearly two-dozen marathons, including the famed Boston Marathon.

"He motivated so many people. He was always upbeat. He made so many people start running," Price said.

The couple moved in together in August 2011.

This past September, the pair jetted off to Hawaii for that state's marathon.

It would be their last together.

It was overwhelming

Andrew Kamara's journey to Canada was as arduous as a long-distance race.

He was raised in a small village in Sierra Leone - considered one of the poorest countries in the world.

At the age of 10, Kamara was chosen among his siblings to leave the village and go to school.

His job before had been to throw rocks at birds to keep them away from the rice fields in the village.

As he explained to Price, he was chosen for school because he was too weak to carry out the task.

Kamara would often go hungry for days getting his education, but he was smart and he excelled.

Eventually he would attend university in his native country and meet a Canadian woman.

At 27, he left the country to start a new life.

More than 30 years passed before he would return home.

Price had already visited the African continent several times.

So on a planned trip to Uganda in February, the couple decided to go to Sierra Leone and Kamara's home village.

The visit would have a profound impact on him.

Kamara learned many of his siblings were no longer alive, but had left behind several dozen nieces and nephews. He pledged to help them in any way he could - especially with their education.

Price said that was particularly important to him.

So when he returned to Canada, despite not having much money of his own, Kamara sent what he could back to his family.

He wrote a letter detailing his experience returning home.

"It was very overwhelming," Price said of Kamara's time in Sierra Leone.

Kamara had said when he died, he wanted to be cremated and have his ashes brought back to his birthplace.

In December, Price and her daughter intend to travel back to his home village and fulfill his wish. She also plans to continue to support Kamara's family.

"That's why we always thought we were meant to be together, to do greater things with each other," Price said.

The days following Andrew Kamara's death have been particularly tough for his fiancé. She's been talking out loud to him, and sees him in her dreams.

"I sometimes think I'm losing my mind," Price said.

However, she is taking some solace in the kind words and support from those who knew Kamara, especially on her Facebook page.

"He was just a beautiful, generous and gentle loving man," Price said. "No one had anything bad to say about him."

Meanwhile, Coquitlam Mounties are still investigating the cause of the crash.

The driver was taken to the Coquitlam RCMP detachment for questioning, but investigators said there is no indication he purposely hit Kamara.

Police also said drugs and alcohol didn't appear to be factors in the midmorning crash.

Price doesn't really want to think about the investigation, nor has she been able to bring herself to visit the spot in Anmore where Kamara was hit.

Instead, she's just trying to cope and remember the love of her life.

Tonight (Wednesday), Kamara's friends and fellow runners are joining Price for a vigil run at the Stanley Park Sea Wall.

They will meet at the English Bay inukshuk. It was Kamara's favourite starting point for a run.

To read Andrew Kamara's letter, CLICK HERE.

jdeutsch@thenownews.com