RCMP call off search for missing man in Seymour River
By Contributor
After a full day of searching, on the ground and in the air, Chase RCMP and Salmon Arm Search and Rescue team concluded that it is unlikely that missing hiker Andrew Wilson survived and is presumed to have drowned after being swept away in the strong Seymour River current Monday.
The Chase RCMP and local SAR technicians completed their extensive search efforts late Tuesday afternoon (June 12) with no sign found of 24-year-old Wilson.
The Chase RCMP and SAR representatives met with Andrew’s family yesterday, with the difficult task of advising them that it was believed that Andrew had perished after being swept away,” Cpl Dan Moskaluk said on the RCMP website.
The search which started Monday afternoon shortly after Wilson was reported being swept away by the river current when he entered the river to cool off during a hike, resumed all day Tuesday.
Aerial and ground searches were conducted along the banks of the Seymour River and of the mouth of the river where it empties into Shuswap Lake, with all efforts yielding negative results.
On both search days, RCMP and private SAR helicopters flew the length of the river and forest area from where the Seymour River drains into Shuswap Lake, back to Seymour Falls with no sign of Wilson seen from the air.
RCMP Dive Team members were unable to enter the water to look for Wilson, due to fast water conditions and deemed it was too dangerous to enter at any point along the search area.
The Chase RCMP will conduct periodic aerial searches of the area as the water levels recede, with the hopes of locating and recovering Wilson’s body.
