Three people are dead, and one person is missing in southern British Columbia after storms caused by an “atmospheric river” caused storms. On October 19, Sonia McIntyre died in Coquitlam, Metro Vancouver, when her house was hit by a landslide.
McIntyre had been a teacher at Aspen wood Elementary School for over 10 years. Coquitlam was an area that received particularly heavy rainfall, with 256 mm of rainfall between the 18th and the night of the 20th. Also on Vancouver Island, two vehicles were swept away by the Sarita River on the west coast on October 20.
The body of one of the victims, Ken Duncan, was found near the vehicles on the 21st. A second vehicle was found the same day but could not be recovered due to high water levels and fast currents.
Police announced on the 22nd that the driver, Bob Vaden, was found dead inside the vehicle. Meanwhile, in Coquitlam, the search continues for Robert Belding, who is believed to have been swept away by the Coquitlam River on the 20th. Coquitlam Rescue and Search Teams believe Belding was trying to rescue his dog, which had fallen into the river.
The dog was later rescued after washing up on the riverbank, but Belding’s whereabouts remain unknown.