2nd person confirmed dead in Vancouver Island washout
3 killed and 1 missing following B.C.'s atmospheric river Saturday
RCMP say the body of a second person has been found inside their vehicle after a road washed away amid an atmospheric river on the west coast of Vancouver Island, bringing the known death toll from the weather event to three.
Police say two vehicles went into the Sarita River when Bamfield Road washed out on Saturday as an atmospheric river hammered southern B.C.
The body of one driver was found a short distance from their vehicle Sunday. The second driver's vehicle was also found in the river, but crews were unable to recover it due to high water levels and fast-moving currents.
In an update Tuesday, Port Alberni RCMP said they had been able to confirm the second person was dead in their vehicle and that they are now working with the Alberni Valley Rescue Squad to recover their remains and both of the vehicles.
Family of both victims have been notified.
In an interview on Monday, Huu-ay-aht First Nation Chief Councillor and Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District chair John Jack identified the drivers as Ken Duncan and Bob Baden, residents of Bamfield, a community of about 200 people that is in the midst of Huu-ay-aht Nations land and Pacific Rim National Park Reserve.
He said both are well known in the community, and their deaths would be profoundly felt. Offices and several businesses in the community, he said Monday, have closed to mourn.
"We're at a low point, community-wise, right now," he said. "It's tragic."
Duncan was identified as a property manager at the Huu-ay-aht First Nation Group of Businesses by Jack, and Baden was identified as a prominent figure in the Bamfield community who sat on regional district committees.
Bob Beckett, the director of Electoral Area A in the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District — which includes Bamfield — says that Baden was the alternate director for him during his first term at the regional district.
"Bob just retired ... which makes it more tragic to think that he had worked so hard, working six days a week and then to, you know, have this terrible accident," he told CBC News.
Baden ran a hardware store in the heart of Banfield for decades, and Beckett said that his shop became affectionately known as "Bob the Builder" to locals who needed parts on a weekend.
Others killed, missing
In addition to the two motorists on Vancouver Island, a 57-year-old teacher in Coquitlam died in a mudslide that swept away her residence.
Crews are also searching for a 59-year-old man who is believed to have been swept away when trying to save a dog from the surging Coquitlam River.
B.C. Premier David Eby said Tuesday that the man had been walking his dog by the riverside. The dog was found alive, but "troublingly" very wet, while the man remains missing, he said.
With files from Georgie Smyth, Kathryn Marlow, CHEK News and The Canadian Press