Edmonton-area man drowns in B.C. lake in attempted rescue gone wrong
Man's body pulled from Mara Lake on Monday
A 26-year-old Edmonton-area man is dead after trying to save another man in a lake near Sicamous, B.C.
RCMP were notified that the man was missing at 11:30 a.m. Monday, hours after he was last seen on the shore of Mara Lake, in the southern interior of British Columbia, police said.
Investigators believe he swam into the lake at around 4 a.m. to help another man who was heard crying for help.
"Yelling was heard coming from the direction of the lake, according to witnesses," said RCMP spokesperson, Staff Sgt. Annie Linteau.
"This man in distress made it back to shore safely, but it appears that the man that had gone swimming after him did not."
The Edmonton-area man was reported missing by friends who he had been camping with, Linteau said.
"It appears that initially perhaps people were not aware that he had gone missing, hence the delayed report," she said. "We did not find out until the following morning."
At 1 p.m., RCMP found the man's body in about two metres of water, between the beach and a nearby resort marina.
The remains were later recovered by the local underwater recovery team.
The investigation has been turned over to the B.C. coroners service, police said. No other information is being released by police.
Mara Lake is in the Columbia Shuswap Regional District, immediately south of the community of Sicamous and 66 kilometres north of Vernon.