The RCMP Underwater Recovery Team in British Columbia is now on a "recovery mission" to find a 19-year-old man who went missing in a lake yesterday. The young man and a few friends were swimming at Buntzen Lake near Anmore, B.C. At around 4:00 PM local time, he suddenly disappeared.
Panicked, his friends searched and called his name, but he was nowhere in sight. They say that he isn't a strong swimmer, and it's possible that he may have drowned. He and his friends were relaxing in the lake on inflatable floats at the time of his disappearance.
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Police called Coquitlam Search and Rescue for help. Around 20 crew members and two boats were used to search for him. Their initial search lasted until 10:00 PM yesterday. Firefighters and parademics were also on standby at the scene, ready to leap into action in case the young man was found.
Buntzen Lake remains closed today as the RCMP, Search and Rescue and local police continue their recovery mission and investigation. The RCMP told CBC that nobody saw the young man struggle. Foul play is not suspected, and nobody in the group was drinking or doing drugs.
Coquitlam SAR activated by the RCMP at 5pm for reports of a missing male swimmer. We responded with 20 members and two boats with Coq SAR Marine and Field teams are currently conducting water and shoreline searches. @cqrcmp, @SasamatFire @BC_EHS on scene. pic.twitter.com/gHhuvsqzD5
Videos show the Underwater Recovery Team and Coquitlam Mounties hard at work, in a "full team activation" to recover the missing man. Relatives are on scene as well, anxiously waiting as the teams to do their work. His relatives say that he's lived in several different countries, and has family both overseas and in B.C.
RCMP dive teams are now searching #BuntzenLake for any sign of a 19 year old #Surrey man, who went missing here yesterday afternoon. Officials now calling this a recovery mission. pic.twitter.com/us3OimxlBo
Only two weeks ago, RCMP dive teams and local Search and Rescue was working around the clock to locate the three missing hikers who fell from Shannon Falls, just outside of Vancouver. The hikers were three YouTubers who ran a popular travel and adventure channel called "High On Life," and they lost their lives in the tragic accident.
The RCMP is expected to provide the media with another update in the coming hours.
Source: CBC
