Surrey man missing after empty rental boat found near West Vancouver
Posted June 9, 2022 10:06 pm.
Last Updated June 10, 2022 2:57 pm.
The search for a man who rented a boat at Granville Island Wednesday and never came back has been suspended and is now a missing person’s case.
Police have reported that the missing person is a 46-year-old man from Surrey who rented the boat around noon on Wednesday.
VPD Sgt. Steve Addison says the man planned to head out to Bowen Island alone.
When he didn’t return the boat by 3 p.m., the VPD marine unit helped the coast guard and other search and rescue boats with the search.
A 17-foot rental boat was found Wednesday night drifting near Point Atkinson in West Vancouver with the keys still in the ignition and the throttle pushed forward. There was no one on board the vessel.
Related Article: Search continues for missing boater off Vancouver’s English Bay
Jeremy Patterson with False Creek Ferries heard the mayday call over the radio on Wednesday afternoon.
“We got the location and it was too far for us to respond from False Creek.”
Coordinates of the empty boat were broadcast to multiple agencies.
The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre says they looked for 24 hours before the search was stopped and handed over to the VPD.
Helicopters have been seen flying over the waters from Kitsilano, to English Bay and West Vancouver.
CityNews has reached out to Granville Island Boat Rentals to confirm if it was missing a boat, but they told CityNews that police gave them “strict orders” not to give out any information.
Two officers were seen visiting the rental shop in the afternoon.
