Outdoor enthusiast from U.S. missing in southeast B.C.

An American outdoor enthusiast has gone missing in B.C.’s East Kootenay region.

Columbia Valley RCMP in Invermere say Peter Jolles, 46, of Virginia, set out on Sunday, June 19, on a solo kayaking trip down Bugaboo Creek, and that he failed to appear at his designated pick-up location.

When Jolles didn’t arrive as expected, he was reported missing to police.

In a press release on Monday, police said they plus search and rescue crews were searching the Bugaboo Creek and Upper Bugaboo Falls for Jolles.

“Columbia Valley RCMP and search and rescue flooded the area (Sunday) night and located Jolles’ green inflatable kayak. However, he was not located,” police said.

On Tuesday, though, RCMP told Global News that due to water conditions, the search had been suspended. However, they said once conditions are safe, crews will resume searching.

Jolles was last seen wearing a black dry suit, a grey life jacket and a white helmet. He is described as a six-foot-five Caucasian man who weighs 180 pounds with a fit physique and shoulder-length wavy hair.

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Police are asking pedestrians to avoid the search area, namely the banks around the Lower Bugaboo Falls area and Bugaboo Creek, to allow search teams to work.

If you have information regarding Jolles’s whereabouts, you are asked to contact the Columbia Valley RCMP at 1-250-342-9292 and cite file 2022-1463.