A Shuswap family is in mourning following the death of a 49-year-old man on the Adams River Saturday.
Chase RCMP received a report of a man who had sustained serious injuries after diving into shallow water approximately 800 metres north of the Adams River Bridge, says Const. Jonathan Spooner.
Shuswap Search and Rescue (SAR) search manager John Schut received a call for assistance at 2:30 p.m., responding with nine members of the team.
Schut says friends and family members had pulled the man to shore and, by the time SAR arrived, paramedics had hiked into the gorge area with a stretcher, and members of a local river rafting company were also trying to help.
It took a combined effort on the part of Chase RCMP, BC Ambulance and SAR to transport the critically injured man overland to a BC Ambulance helicopter in a staging area just west of the bridge.
Spooner says the man was unconscious with a very weak pulse and, despite efforts by paramedics, succumbed to his injuries before the helicopter could depart.
“Alcohol was not a factor, just some wrong judgment,” he says, noting the water level in local lakes and rivers has dropped substantially. “It’s a tragedy, but from the RCMP perspective, it’s a warning about diving into waters, especially unknown waters – it’s extremely dangerous.”
Spooner has high praise for the members of SAR, who he describes as being a great help both during the rescue event and once the matter was turned over to the coroner’s office.
“I was glad to have them with me,” he says. “It was hard going.”
Victim’s Services has responded to the grieving family and, out of respect for the family’s privacy, the coroner’s office has not yet released the man’s name.