Man drowns trying to rescue dog swept away by West Vancouver creek

A man has drowned after trying to rescue a dog from a creek in a West Vancouver park Friday evening, police say.

The man, who was in his forties, and his wife were walking a friend's dog in Cypress Falls Park shortly before 9 p.m. PT, according to West Vancouver Police.

The dog had been swept away by high, fast-moving waters downstream from the creek's lower falls, and the man went in to rescue him.

The man's wife called 911 after the creek carried both her husband and the dog out of sight of the trail, Sgt. Mark McLean tod CBC News.

Paul Markey, who led North Shore Rescue's response to the call, said the steep cliffs, unstable embankments, loose rocks, fallen trees and turbulent waters made the search in the dark "very challenging."

As Markey and his colleagues returned to resume the search downstream on Saturday morning, with equipment to access below the steep cliffs, he received a call that the man's family members had spotted both his and the dog's bodies in the water around 6 a.m.

"It was horrendous," said Markey. "Probably the worst possible thing you could imagine."

Police are not naming the deceased to respect his family's privacy, and said his wife and family are being supported by the police's victim services.

Most of British Columbia is under a high streamflow warning due to a record-breaking early heat wave last weekend that has caused rapid snowmelt, however there is no warning in place for the park.

Markey said Cypress Creek was freezing, turbulent and dangerous due to rapid snowmelt on Cypress Mountain on Friday night. 

Turbulent waters are less buoyant and harder for people and animals to float in compared to still water, but dogs will often be able to scramble out on their own.

Markey doesn't recall another call for a person drowning in the area, but says NSR has rescued at least one dog in the past.

"If you are close to bodies of water, keep your dog on a leash," said Markey. "And if the dog does go in, absolutely do not follow the dog in there and try not to get close to the water."

"Well-behaved" dogs are allowed to be off-leash in Cypress Falls Park, according to the District of West Vancouver's website.

Dogs should be trained or on-leash: park user

Police and West Vancouver park rangers were present at the park as families, friends and their dogs set out on long-weekend walks Saturday afternoon, some of whom expressed shock about the drownings.

West Vancouver resident Susanne Zeihr said dogs and people being pulled into the water is sadly too common.

Zeihr has walked the trails "almost every day" for 30 years and says a dog gets swept into the creek at least every few years.

"It's tricky and it's a little bit dangerous when people underestimate it. The current is brutal," she said. "But the dogs get hot … and sometimes with all their training all your best intentions they jump in."

Ziehr keeps her three-year-old Dachsund off-leash and close to her on their walks, and said she is well-trained to heel.

One of her larger dogs was also once swept away chasing a bird at Capilano River Regional Park, but luckily came back after her teenage sons dove in after him. "It's nerve-wracking when that happens," said Ziehr.

Vancouver resident Maelle Richard had never visited Cypress Falls before Saturday, but said she noticed high water levels at Lynn Canyon last week. She kept her dog, Suki, on-leash and far from the water at both parks.

"I've never seen the stream like that, so high and very high-speed," said Richard near the lower falls.

Her friend Julia Lienenweber said more warning signs could help prevent other deaths and injuries.

"I think signage is good, I don't know about barriers exactly, it depends how bad it is," she said.

Ziehr said she has seen the park become very popular in the last decade, and especially since the pandemic began. 

People need to use common sense around the park, she said, as the creek is too long for barriers or warning signs at every access point.

"People just need to either keep the dog on a leash or have the dog trained," said Ziehr.