The bodies of three young men who went missing after a canoeing accident on Slocan Lake have now been recovered.
One of those missing was former Gibsons resident Hayden Kyle, 21. His body was recovered along with those of his friends Jule Wiltshire-Padfield, 15, and 19-year-old Skye Donnet, on Wednesday morning, May 28.
Their bodies were located by underwater search specialists who were called in by family members after the RCMP search was called off. Despite using land, air and water searches, the local RCMP failed to locate the missing canoeists and cancelled their search efforts after 10 days of looking.
The underwater search specialists explored a different area, farther from shore, and located the missing males earlier this week.
“The recovery efforts involved Ralston and Associates, New Denver Search and Rescue plus the RCMP dive team,” said Central Kootenay Regional RCMP Sgt. Darryl Little in a press release. “The good weather this morning made recovery efforts much easier than anticipated. Families of the youth have all been advised of their recovery.”
There will be a celebration of life for Kyle this Saturday, May 31, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Chaster House in Gibsons. All his friends and acquaintances are welcome to attend.
