Father and teenaged daughter dead after tragic ATV accident
The bodies of two missing persons have been recovered after an all-terrain vehicle carrying three people was caught in a deep and fast-moving creek near Campbell River on Sunday.
Search and rescue crews from Campbell River, Comox Valley and Port Alberni were dispatched Sunday morning to Woods Creek. One body was recovered late Sunday afternoon, the second Monday morning.
"The person recovered yesterday was a young girl, I believe, 15 years of age and was the daughter of the gentleman recovered today," said Daryl Beck with Campbell River Search and Rescue.
Creek was overflowing
Beck said the father, daughter and a friend of the teen were on an ATV attempting to cross the creek on a trail that normally isn't under as much water as it was Sunday morning. The creek was overflowing because of Saturday night's storm in that area.
Rushing waters swept over the ATV and the three were thrown into the water. The friend made it to safety and was taken to hospital.
The river system at the time was full of logs and debris — and Beck said the male recovered Monday became trapped after being pushed up against an underwater log.
"We had actually passed over the area that we had recovered the body from today," said Beck. "But the river was too deep, we couldn't see them."
The family home was just a few hundred metres from where the bodies were recovered.
Massive search undertaken
A helicopter, the Coast Guard, swift-water teams and ground search crews were dispatched to the swollen creek when the call went out Sunday.
Beck said the tragedy affected many of the searchers during the rescue and eventual recovery.
He urged people to use extreme caution near waterways, especially after heavy rain storms like Saturday's — as rivers and creeks quickly grow stronger, faster and deeper.
The coroner's office in now investigating.
