Idaho couple pick up search for missing Calgary fisherman

EAGLE BAY, BC – When the Ralston’s show up with the Kathy G, you know there’s a family desperate to find a missing loved one.

Gene and Sandy Ralston have been volunteering their time for years in the search for bodies in various lakes around North America.

They arrived on Shuswap Lake Tuesday to pick up the search for John Poole, a Calgary man who went missing while fishing May 1st. His boat beached near Eagle Bay on the south-west arm of Shuswap Lake; the boat still in gear with the down riggers and fishing lines engaged.

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Police and Search and Rescue called off the search for Poole after an extensive search.

And when officials give up, that’s when the Ralston’s from Idaho usually step in.

The couple happened to be in the BC Interior after locating the bodies of two missing teens in Nicola Lake Monday.

Their boat, the Kathy G is equipped with side scan sonar. The Ralston’s specialize in water physics and search equipment operation. GPS technology and surface buoys help mark the water when a questionable object is detected on the lake bottom.

While the Ralston’s volunteer their equipment, they only ask to be reimbursed for other expenses like gas.

Their efforts have helped recover more than 70 bodies in the last decade.

Poole’s family have traveled from Calgary to oversee the search effort. The 59 year old is presumed drowned.