Castlegar RCMP say a man was recovered from the Kootenay River on Friday who had been missing for the last year. The Castlegar man slide off an embankment into the river in his pickup truck last May, according to RCMP.
“We’ve been very busy trying to located that vehicle, locate that person, obviously with the difficulty of working in a river environment with high flow times and low flow times. It was a very challenging experience trying to locate that vehicle and then the process of extraction,” said Corporal Brett Turner.
Castlegar and BC Search and Rescue had both attempted to locate the vehicle using sonar without success, but it was found earlier this spring by a Dam Helicopters employee. Friday was the second recovery attempt which lasted several hours. The first attempt was on April 12. Afterwards, the vehicle shifted its position in the river, but was in spot that was better for the recovery.
“The underwater recovery team were able to actually get to the vehicle and get it hooked up to the excavator for removal,” explained Corporal Turner.
He is glad to see the file now come to a conclusion and says the Corner’s Service is also investigating.
The RCMP Underwater Recovery Team, Silvertip Earthworks, Dam Helicopters, BC Hydro, Keegz Towing, Castlegar Search and Rescue, and Eric Anderson, who piloted an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) all assisted with the recovery.