A new mystery surfaced over the weekend when a body that was pulled to the surface of Francois Lake wasn't the missing man searchers were expecting.
It was originally believed that the body, found deep underwater, was that of missing Lakes District man Syd Neville, who disappeared after a storm on the lake on June 7. The boat he and his adult nephew were fishing in capsized. His nephew hung on long enough to be rescued but Neville was gone.
A body was located by sophisticated sonar equipment late last week and over the weekend, a recovery team brought the person to the surface from a depth of about 170 metres (570 feet).
Although the body was that of a male, it was not Neville, according to witnesses, but the identity of the mystery body is not yet known. Meanwhile, Neville remains missing.
"Yeah, I think people were surprised; I was surprised," said Barb McLintock of the B.C. Coroners Service. "[The body's location] seemed to fit so nicely with where the search for Mr. Neville was focused. For the Neville family's sake we certainly hoped it was going to give them some closure, it certainly looked that way. And now, I don't know how they are feeling, but we are hopeful there might now be a chance to have two families receive a sense of closure."
The search is being conducted by sonar specialists Gene and Sandy Ralston, who are based in Idaho but travel the continent helping where they can when families have lost a loved one underwater. It was their equipment and expertise that spotted the body on the floor of Francois Lake.
"We will continue to search for Syd," said Gene Ralston.
McLintock said water that cold and deep could easily preserve a person for many years but he wasn't guessing who the person was.
"I can't tell you exactly whom we are considering. Our list is less than 10, but there are many variables. If we have to go wider, we go wider," McLintock said. "The B.C. Coroners Service is now working with the RCMP to compare the body with persons known to have gone missing in or near the lake in the past. A combination of circumstances, clothing, jewelry, dental work and/or DNA may be used to provide a positive identification."
The identity of the deceased mystery person will be disclosed once a positive identification has been made and next of kin notified, McLintock said.
