The search for a man who was presumed to have drowned in Vancouver last week has officially come to a tragic end.
Police confirmed today that a body recovered from the water at Stanley Park’s Third Beach on April 18 has been identified as the missing swimmer.
Third Beach is several kilometres away from where the man went into distress while in the water at Wreck Beach a day earlier.
The University RCMP was called to Wreck Beach at 3:25 pm on April 17 for a report of a swimmer in distress, apparently yelling for help and struggling to swim.
“A bystander entered the water in an attempt to affect a rescue,” an RCMP release explained. “Unfortunately, the rescuer had to return to shore to avoid succumbing to the waters themselves and bystanders lost sight of the man.”
Vancouver Fire Rescue, BC Ambulance Service, Metro Vancouver Parks and the Canadian Coast Guard (CCGS) all began a widespread marine search.
It included divers from the CCGS Moytel hovercraft and two rigid-hull inflatable boats, but there was no sign of the missing man before darkness fell.
Those efforts continued on April 18, but the marine search was stood down after the discovery of a body matching the swimmer’s description in the water at Third Beach.
With the body now being identified as the missing swimmer, the BC Coroners Service has taken over the investigation and police will not be providing any further information.
