UPDATE: Search for missing Shuswap senior becomes recovery mission | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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UPDATE: Search for missing Shuswap senior becomes recovery mission

An evacuation order has been issued for 13 properties after a mudslide at Sunnybrae-Canoe Point Road, May 6, 2017.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Columbia Shuswap Regional District
Original Publication Date May 08, 2017 - 9:32 AM

SHUSWAP - The search for a Shuswap senior who went missing after a mudslide struck his home has taken a somber turn.

Police say the search for 76-year-old Roy Frederick Sharp, of Tappen, is now considered a recovery mission. Sharp was identified in an RCMP media release this afternoon, May 8. 

In a tweet earlier in the day, South East District RCMP said there were no signs of Sharp, who was last known to be inside the home. The house was enveloped by a mudslide May 6.  

Crews from the Heavy Urban Search and Rescue team out of Vancouver, alongside Shuswap Search and Rescue, spent the weekend trying to find the Sunnybrae Canoe Point Road resident. 

Rescue activities began May 6, but had to be called off after night fell. They resumed on Sunday, May 7. Crews were able to search the destroyed home and areas of the mudslide debris field, however were unable to locate Sharp.

“The Salmon Arm RCMP continues to work with the Columbia Shuswap Regional District, Ministry of Transport and other agencies, in our efforts in dealing with this tragic natural disaster," Sgt. Scott West says in a media release. "We will continue to provide the needed support to Mr. Sharp’s family and the affected community."

Search efforts will continue with assessments being made daily in order to ensure conditions are safe for crews. 

An evacuation order for 13 properties on Sunnybrae Canoe Point Road remains in effect. The road is closed in both directions from addresses 5866 to 5948 until further notice. There is no estimated time for re-opening the road.

Visit the Columbia Shuswap Regional District’s website for full information on road closures, evacuations and water advisories.

— This story was updated at 3:51 p.m. May 8, 2017 to include new information released by the RCMP. 


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