Community joins search for woman, dog who went missing during Kelowna flooding

A community search organized by the family of a missing Kelowna. B.C. woman drew a crowd of 150 volunteers Saturday to the area near the creek where it is feared she may have been swept away by fast-moving floodwaters.

A community search organized by the family of a missing Kelowna. B.C. woman drew a crowd of 150 volunteers Saturday to the area near the creek where it is feared she may have been swept away by fast-moving floodwaters.

Chelsea Cardno, 31, was last seen Tuesday when she left her home on Dougal Road South. Police said she'd left to walk her German shepherd, JJ, near the Mission Greenway. City officials declared a state of emergency Tuesday afternoon, as heavy rainfall and melted snow caused water levels in the Mission Creek and other waterways to rise to dangerous levels with strong currents.

In the intervening days, efforts by the RCMP and Central Okanagan Search and Rescue have been unsuccessful in locating Cardno. Dangerous conditions in the area led to a pause in the search on Friday.

Cardno's step-sister, Suzy Harrison, says the weather had improved enough by Saturday for the search, which was organized with and supported by SAR teams, to proceed.

The turnout was more than anyone had hoped for.

"It's overwhelming and surreal. With everything that's going on in the world today and how callous people can be to one another, it kind of restores your view of humanity," Harrison told CTV News.

"There are people out there that truly care for another human being, whether they knew them or not."