Coquihalla Canyon area reopens as body of dead teen remains missing near Othello Tunnels

HOPE — Authorities have now reopened the Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park area despite search efforts failing to yield the body of a young man who fell into the Coquihalla River on Saturday (July 26).

On July 30, the RCMP Underwater Recovery Team conducted searches in the river where the 19-year-old was believed to have entered.

The next day, July 31, Hope Search and Rescue continued efforts by exploring shorelines and deploying unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) sweeps of the river.

Despite both endeavours, the person is still missing.

“The pools of water where the man was last seen were thoroughly searched in hopes of locating him and providing a level of closure to his family,” said Staff Sergeant Mike Sargent with Hope RCMP.

“While he has not yet been found, search efforts remain active and ongoing.”

Search and Rescue will be back on Saturday, August 2. Public access will be restricted in parts of the provincial park to support the team.

Hope RCMP asks the public to respect restrictions and avoid interfering with search operations.