UPDATE: Body recovered from Slocan River
By Nelson Daily Staff
In a media release Saturday, RCMP said the Underwater Recovery Team located the body of the 35-year-old man who went missing after swimming in the Slocan River earlier this week.
RCMP said the man’s body was recovered in the same area he was last observed.
Criminality is not suspected in the drowning of the man and the drowning is being investigated by BC Coroners Service,” said Cpl. Jaime Moffat of the Slocan RCMP in the media release.
“The Slocan Lake RCMP would like to thank Search and Rescue for their assistance in searching for the man and offer their sincere condolences to the family and friends of the man.”
The man went missing on Wednesday, August 5, 2020 at approximately 5:40 p.m. while swimming approximately 1.5 kilometres northwest of Winlaw.
The man’s acquaintance called 9-1-1 from a nearby business
Search and Rescue (SAR) used a helicopter and commenced searching the river at approximately 7:40 p.m.
However, due to the time of day, SAR was unable to use a boat to search for the man.
The area in which the man went under is a well-used swimming area, which is usually shallow and there are sandbars to stand on, though the water is high right now and the undercurrent is strong.
The next morning, August 6, 2020, SAR along with the RCMP Underwater Recover Team, returned to the area to resume their search.
