On May 28, a paddleboard was found drifting in Whistler‘s Alta Lake. Sadly, it appears that the story has ended in tragedy after a body was found in the lake on June 21.
After Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) were alerted to the riderless paddleboard at the end of May, a search party was sent out.
“I can confirm we received a report of a paddleboard that was adrift in Alta Lake,” said media relations officer Cpl. Katrina Boehmer at the time, “and we have been searching to locate the individual associated to this paddleboard with the assistance of a number of our partners, including Search and Rescue, Whistler Fire, RCMP Air Services and BC Conservation Service.”
Residents and vistors were told that they would notice an increase in police presence around Alta Lake while authorties were conducting their search. Details weren’t released at the time due to privacy legislation, but the search included the lake itself and the surrounding areas.
At just before 3:30 p.m. on June 21, officials were notified of a body in the lake. Police, the Whistler Fire Rescue Service, BC Conservation Officer Service, and the Whistler Sailing Association recovered the remains.
“Details of the individual located will not be released pending an investigation by the BC Coroner Service,” said Cpl. Boehmer in a June 24 press release. “We recognize that several individuals may have witnessed this incident, and we want them to know they are welcome to contact our RCMP Victim Services team if they have been affected in any way and feel they would benefit from support.”
Alta is Whistler’s biggest lake and has three beaches that draw many visitors, especially in the summer months: Lakeside Park, Rainbow Park, and Wayside Park. The lake remained open during the search.
In a similar but unrelated incident, on May 30, the bodies of two other missing paddleboarders were found in nearby Browning Lake. We reached out to the RCMP for comment, but hadn’t received a response at the time of this writing.
