Man disappears overnight while out on Slocan Lake; alcohol a factor
By Nelson Daily Editor
A mix of alcohol, wind and rain led to the disappearance of a 56-year-old man on Slocan Lake Wednesday night — with search and rescue finding him Thursday morning.
The man had set out on Slocan Lake on Wednesday evening around 7 p.m. from Silverton in a 14-foot aluminum boat with an electric trolling motor.
The man and an adult friend had traveled by boat from Silverton to New Denver and, shortly after arriving in New Denver, the man decided to put out in the boat on his own.
When he did not arrive back in New Denver, Slocan Lake RCMP, New Denver and Nakusp Search and Rescue and an RCMP helicopter began a search for the man around 7 a.m. after the incident was called in.
Around 9:30 a.m. Thursday morning the boat was spotted adrift near Rosebery and appeared to be unoccupied.
“The aluminum boat was located by Search and Rescue and the male subject was alive and conscious, laying face down inside the boat in several inches of water,” said RCMP Staff Sergeant Dan Seibel, operations NCO of the Kootenay Boundary Regional Detachment. “Overnight the weather conditions included wind and rain.”
The man was taken to hospital suffering from hypothermia.
“Alcohol was a factor in this incident,” said Sgt, Seibel.
Note
With the summer boating season now here, RCMP remind boaters that it is illegal to operate a vessel while impaired – Don’t Cruise with Booze.
Each year in Canada nearly 150 people die in boating incidents. Ensure that your boat is properly equipped with life jackets or personal flotation devices.
For more information on Safe and Responsible Boating practices, please visit www.boatingsafety.gc.ca.
