RCMP seek witnesses to Slocan drowning
The Slocan Lake RCMP is asking anyone who may have witnessed a drowning in the Slocan River on the evening Aug. 5 to contact them.
On August 5, 2020 at approximately 5:40 pm, Slocan Lake RCMP responded to a complaint of a person drowning in the Slocan River, roughly 1.5 km North West of Winlaw, BC.
A 35-year old man was swimming with an acquaintance when he went under and did not resurface.
The man’s acquaintance called 9-1-1 from a nearby business, said Cpl. Jaime Moffat, Detachment Commander for the Slocan RCMP. Search and Rescue (SAR) used a helicopter and commenced searching the river at approximately 7:40 pm. 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.
On the morning of Aug. 6, SAR, along with the RCMP Underwater Recover Team, returned to the area to resume their search.
Anyone who was in the area and might have seen anything is asked to contact the RCMP.