Police believe they have found the body of a youth who went missing in the devastating Nova Scotia floods late last month, the RCMP said Wednesday.
“No family should ever face this kind of tragedy,” said Supt. Sean Auld, the Nova Scotia RCMP’s support services officer, in a release.
“And no words can describe the true sympathy we feel for each of them.”
RCMP told reporters Wednesday the province’s medical examiner still needed to positively identify the remains that were found a day earlier by a civilian who was out for a walk along the shoreline in Advocate Harbour, N.S., on the Bay of Fundy.
Abraham Zebian, mayor of the Municipality of West Hants, identified the missing girl during a news conference as Terri-Lynn Keddy, and police later confirmed her age. Zebian described the girl, along with the three others who died in the flooding, as “part of our fabric, part of us.”
He said his community is both mourning and relieved that all four were found after a massive search that continued over 10 days.
The youth was one of four people who went missing and were later found dead after two separate vehicles became submerged in the early hours of July 22. Last week, searchers recovered the bodies of two six-year-old children — identified in funeral home notices as Natalie Hazel Harnish and Colton Sisco — and 52-year-old Nicholas Holland, who was travelling with the youth.
“At this time we believe the (remains) are those of the youth reported missing on July 22 as a result of the extreme flooding,” Supt. Sean Auld told a news conference.
Police believe the vehicles were knocked off the road about 75 kilometres northwest of a hayfield in Brooklyn, N.S., by rapidly rising water during a storm that dumped up to 250 millimetres of rain on parts of the province.
Local residents and police have said the Meander River spilled its banks and sent a torrent of water coursing across the rural road as the two vehicles drove seeking refuge in the early hours of July 22. The vehicles — a pickup truck and an SUV — were pushed into a hayfield where water reached the height of a tractor-trailer truck.
RCMP Sgt. Rob Frizzell said the distance between the hayfield and the area where Terri-Lynn’s body was found speaks to the power of the floodwaters and tides in the area. “If you follow all of the different rivers and tributaries, we are closing in on 100 kilometres away,” Frizzell said. “The sheer force of that water coming through, it’s never happened before around here.”
He said the girl was in the front passenger seat of the SUV, next to an adult driver, while Holland was in the back seat beside another adult, when the vehicle was washed off the road. The driver and the other passenger managed to escape.
At the news conference, Premier Tim Houston thanked RCMP and other first responders, including volunteer firefighters, who helped search shorelines and flooded fields for the missing people.
“We’re thankful and grateful for your efforts,” Houston said. “And we’ll never know how many lives you saved.”
“My sincere condolences to the families of the four lost souls,” he added. “You’ll be forever in our hearts and be the very sad legacy of these floods.”
Funerals were held earlier this week for the two six-year-olds who died.
In Brooklyn Monday, hundreds of people gathered at the local firehall to grieve Natalie, who was described as a butterfly who lit up every room.
A funeral was held the following day for Colton, whose obituary describes him as an animal lover who was keen on farming, and who had pet ducks and pigs at home.
On Monday, police said the search for the youth was paused due to dangerous conditions, as there were deep pockets of water in the search area. The search efforts were temporarily suspended to allow the water to drain.
At that time, search crews had covered more than 495 acres of ground, 104 square kilometres of watershed and tidal waters, and 417 square kilometres by air.
Following the news conference, the chief and deputy chief of the Brooklyn volunteer fire department told reporters that the first responders involved are exhausted after leading the response and participating in the searches.
The fire department was among the first to respond beginning on Friday night, as rain poured down and made it difficult for the fire trucks to provide rescues in some areas.
Chief Jason Cochrane said, “helping members with mental health is top priority with us right now,” while Deputy Chief Brett Tetanish said the approximately 75 members of the volunteer department are aware that more climate-related disasters could be coming.
Kody Blois, Liberal MP for Kings-Hants, said that while Wednesday was a time for grief, there is also a need to reflect on lessons learned from problems encountered during the initial response, particularly the poor cellular service in the area.
He emphasized that many residents did not receive emergency alerts, and said more support needs to be provided to volunteer fire departments coping with the impact of carrying out rescues during climate disasters.
“Think of what’s happening across the country right now, from forest fires to hurricanes …. It’s incumbent on the government of Canada and provincial and territorial governments to make sure that these guys and gals have additional supports,” he said.
A number of organizations took part in the search, including the RCMP, the Nova Scotia Ground Search and Rescue Association, various fire departments, the Department of Natural Resources and Renewables, Nova Scotia Public Safety and Field Communications, Emergency Health Services, Civilian Air Search and Rescue Association, the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre, and civilian contractors.
“For each of the nine days of the search, team members worked through challenging conditions, always with the families and the community at the forefront of their thoughts,” Auld said. “I have the deepest respect for their resolve to reunite the missing with their families.”
— with files from The Canadian Press