A 20-year-old Vancouver man is presumed dead after going missing in an apparent attempt to swim a rushing Squamish River.
On Sunday Aug. 2 at 1:24 p.m., Squamish RCMP responded to a 911 call of a person missing in the Squamish River after it was reported that two men had jumped off a small boat carrying five men that had been floating downriver.
One man was saved after latching onto a tree while the other "jumped off the boat, submerged and never came up," according to Cpl. Dave Ritchie.
The man is described as a slim Asian male six-feet tall wearing black shorts.
Rescue attempts were delayed by the boaters' attempts at finding their friend, which lasted approximately 40 minutes, and then initial 911 reports stating the man was lost in lake, which misled rescuers. RCMP eventually drove to the Upper Squamish Valley with the boaters to the last spot the man was seen. The area of the river is treacherous, said Ritchie.
"It is determined as very swift and has deep pockets to it and there is quite a lot of debris in the water and a lot of silt and much making zero visibility in the water."
Squamish Search and Rescue attended the area with swift water rescue personnel in a boat and a helicopter. They conducted a search of the river and shoreline, which proved fruitless, and the search was called off by late afternoon. One more helicopter fly-by is scheduled for today, but rescuers are leery of entering the water.
"Water like that can be unforgiving and trap people underneath it," said Ritchie. "I've consulted with a dive team and feasibility of finding him and safety reasons will keep them out of the water as far as I know. But they're going to do one of the fly-pasts with one of their members just to ensure they see it from their side."
It's believed the men launched the boat off a side road at approximately the 20 Mile mark of Squamish Valley Road.
The missing man's family has now resorted to hiring a private firm to resume the search, according to Ritchie.
"We don't recommend [private] companies and we wouldn't deter them from searching either. But we told them it's a tragedy that we've lost one, I wouldn't jeopardize losing more, so make sure that you're aware of what you're doing."
The man's name is being withheld at the family's request. However RCMP is encouraging them to release his identity when they are ready, said Ritchie.
"It does pinpoint who it is as opposed to leaving hundreds of mothers and fathers and others wondering 'Is it somebody I know because they were in Squamish?' That's what we like to do is alleviate that and we explain it that way to them."
