It’s the second day of a search on the waters of Harrison Lake for Raymond Salmen.
He’s presumed to have drowned last month and his wife is now relying on a specialized recovery team to find her loved one.
That team is truly unique — an American couple who has made a name for themselves for taking over searches when local authorities are forced to give up.
Salmen, a charismatic guy and avid outdoorsmen, had some kind of accident in June while on a solo camping trip in the woods around the lake — something he did often.
RCMP believe he was injured when he fired his rifle into a nearby campsite to try and get help.
As a last resort they think he tried to swim back injured to his campsite, and drowned.
Today, Salmen’s brother and long time family friend joined the search.
“He was a good swimmer. He had first aid,” says Salmen’s brother Robert. “He was always conscious of packing his backpack, and making sure he had extra provisions. He would never go into the bush or on a hike alone.”
While RCMP have been able to pinpoint where they believe Salmen fell in, they don’t have the necessary equipment to search for him.
That’s why Salmen’s wife Daniela hired the Ralstons, something several other BC residents have done.
Family friend Anthony Otto says they have faith in the couple.
“My understanding is they work for expenses only and they travel great distances, and they do it because they want to help people and they feel it is the right thing to do.”
During today’s search, there were a couple of shadows that looked promising on the sonar, but by the end day the search turned up no sign of Salmen.
But Gene Ralston says finding a body in this kind of terrain should not be too difficult, and he hopes they will have some results by tomorrow.
Comments