Search crews are still looking for a 71-year-old man who went missing on Okanagan Lake on Friday afternoon.
It’s believed Zygmunt Janiewicz entered the lake to do some kayaking, but failed to return as scheduled. A kayak, a paddle and a lifejacket were found close to each other along the 3300 block of Watt Road.
COSAR said they are searching north of Gyro Beach by a kilometre or so.
Get daily National news
Tresnich said Janiewicz paddled every day, so he was quite fit and was also familiar with the weather and lake conditions.
WATCH BELOW (Aired Sept. 26, 2018): Incredible moment a seal smacks a kayaker in the face with an octopus
“He followed one of his normal routes and just hasn’t returned,” said RCMP Cpl. John Brown, adding the challenge of this search is “we don’t know exactly where he was last at.
“And so we’re starting from point zero. We have an idea that he could be in Okanagan Lake, but where exactly he was last, we don’t know.”
WATCH BELOW (Aired July 16, 2018): Kayaker chased by grizzly all caught on camera
COSAR has a boat team searching for Janiewicz and said ground crews and two kayaks were to patrol the shoreline. A helicopter was also used in the search for approximately one hour on Saturday.
Tresnich said Saturday’s search plans included looking along the water path and along the edge of a shelf in the lake.
He also noted that Saturday’s lake conditions were calm and clear, “100 per cent different than what it was yesterday.”
Tresnich also asked boaters to please stay away from COSAR’s boat while the search is ongoing.
Brown also suggested that “anybody who’s out on the water, you need to wear personal flotation devices of some sort.”
Comments