Tamara Hynd
Fernie Free Press
Swiftwater teams from Fernie, Sparwood, Cranbrook and Kimberley worked throughout the day and into the night on Saturday in the Bull River, continuing the search for the missing 20-year-old man from Jaffray.
An RCMP dive team joined the search, but was rapidly forced to abandon the dive due to strong currents in the river.
The Swiftwater teams were able to locate the vehicle, using metal poles and underwater cameras in very fast-moving turbid waters, around 12 feet under the surface. At this stage the pictures are not clear enough to provide any evidence as to whether the man is still in the vehicle.
Simon Piney from Fernie SAR explained, "The vehicle is assumed to be that of the Jaffray man as there is no local knowledge of an other vehicle in the Bull River. The river is clear and low in July and August normally, so local hunters would know if there was something in there from years ago.
Cpl. Pat Prefontaine of Cranbrook RCMP added, "The river has gone back up as of yesterday probably due to the snow pack melt and high temperatures."
Work continues with SAR and family and friends to search the area while keeping a close eye on water levels.