updated
BC Hydro reducing Coquitlam River flow to help find man swept away during atmospheric river
Posted October 25, 2024 6:35 am.
Last Updated October 25, 2024 10:27 am.
The search is about to ramp up for a man missing in the Coquitlam River following last weekend’s massive atmospheric river deluge.
Friday will be the last big push ahead of this weekend’s storm as search and rescue crews fear more rain will only make conditions worse.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO 1130 NEWSRADIO VANCOUVER LIVE!Ian MacDonald, search manager with Coquitlam Search and Rescue (SAR), says Friday is the “best opportunity” to find 59-year-old Robert Belding who vanished during last weekend’s deadly atmospheric river.
MacDonald says the focus is on the Coquitlam River after BC Hydro reduced outflow from a nearby dam to help crews.
“Up until this point, the water has been too dangerous to insert searchers,” explained MacDonald. “Also, we haven’t had any rain in four or five days and rain is in the forecast, so today’s our big push.”
“We’re going to put our swift water technicians into the water and they’ll be searching the high probability areas to see if we can find Mr. Belding,” MacDonald said Friday morning.
He says the challenge is posed by days of debris build-up.
“Trees and wood and all kinds of things, and this is relevant because they form debris traps and Mr. Belding could very easily be caught under one of these debris traps,” he explained.
“Those can’t be searched either properly or safely from the shore and that’s why today is so important.”
MacDonald admits the search is a race against the clock with more stormy weather ahead this weekend.
“That’s why we have such a big push today and we’re bringing in mutual aid from a number of other search and rescue teams to help us so we can get a large presence in the river. The objective is to search the entire Coquitlam River.”
1130 NewsRadio asked MacDonald what happens if Friday’s search turns up empty.
“We have to confer with the RCMP. This search that Coquitlam Search and Rescue is conducting is conducted with the RCMP. They are the lead agency because this is considered a missing persons investigation.”
He says other agencies helping include a chopper from Talon Helicopters, North Shore Rescue, and Ridge Meadows Search and Rescue.
CSR says Belding was last seen near Pipeline Road and Galette Avenue around 5 p.m. Sunday. Early reports suggested that he had fallen into or been swept away by the overflowing current while walking with his brother’s dog amid the heavy downpour.
CSR confirmed Wednesday that Belding was attempting to save the dog after it fell into the river.
“The dog went into the water, and Robert, being a good soul, went after to try and rescue it. The witness reported that he was swept away almost immediately because the current was so strong and the river so high,” MacDonald had said on Wednesday.
The dog was later found near Shaughnessy Street and David Place.
More rain is in the forecast for the weekend, but CSR says the search for Belding will continue, even if the methods used are forced to change.
“In searches like this, we don’t give up,” MacDonald said.
Meanwhile, North Shore Rescue has been also been tasked to find a missing man, Scott Phillips, believed to be somewhere in the British Properties.
The man’s car was found near the Brothers Creek trailhead on the North Shore.
North Shore Rescue says Phillips is familiar with the backcountry but he hasn’t been seen since Sept. 27.
