The man still missing after the landslide on the Duffey Lake Road north of Pemberton, B.C., has now been identified.
Brett Diederichs of Peachland is believed to have been swept away by the slide on Highway 99 on Nov. 15.
His sister, Kristen, told Global News her brother turned 36 just three days before the slide.
His family was relocating to Vancouver Island when he disappeared.
Kristen said her brother wanted to be a firefighter and was moving to Victoria for a better chance at realizing his dream.
His partner and his mother were in another vehicle that was caught in the slide but Kristen said they are both miraculously OK.
Brett’s body has not been recovered at this time and Kristen said RCMP has told them his body may never be found.
“We are now in Victoria as planned, just trying to get through this together somehow,” Kristen told Global News.
A GoFundMe has been set up for Brett’s family. Kristen said the funds will be used to cover end-of-life costs, including a celebration of life and to alleviate some pressure for his wife to give her some time to process her loss.
The death toll from the mudslide on British Columbia’s Highway 99 is now considered to be five.
In the aftermath, police determined that at least one woman had died, and RCMP confirmed Saturday they had located the bodies of three additional men.
“These three men were amongst those whom we confirmed were missing earlier this week,” S/Sgt. Janelle Shoihet said in a media release.
The slide came down on a section of the highway between Pemberton and Lillooet known as Duffey Lake Road on Monday, sweeping between five and seven vehicles off the road.
The victims’ identities have not been publicly released, but sources confirmed to Global News that one of the men was 35-year-old Mirsad Hadzic, whose wife was also killed in the slide.
The couple had been returning from a weekend getaway in the Okanagan, and leave behind a two-year-old daughter.
– with files from Simon Little
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