Man drowns trying to rescue dog swept away by West Vancouver creek
CBC
A man has drowned after trying to rescue a dog from a creek in a West Vancouver park Friday evening, police say.
The man, who was in his forties, and his wife were walking a friend's dog in Cypress Falls Park shortly before 9 p.m. PT, according to West Vancouver Police.
The dog had been swept away by high, fast-moving waters downstream from the creek's lower falls, and the man went in to rescue him.
The man's wife called 911 after the creek carried both her husband and the dog out of sight of the trail, Sgt. Mark McLean tod CBC News.
Paul Markey, who led North Shore Rescue's response to the call, said the steep cliffs, unstable embankments, loose rocks, fallen trees and turbulent waters made the search in the dark "very challenging."
As Markey and his colleagues returned to resume the search downstream on Saturday morning, with equipment to access below the steep cliffs, he received a call that the man's family members had spotted both his and the dog's bodies in the water around 6 a.m.
"It was horrendous," said Markey. "Probably the worst possible thing you could imagine."
Police are not naming the deceased to respect his family's privacy, and said his wife and family are being supported by the police's victim services.
Most of British Columbia is under a high streamflow warning due to a record-breaking early heat wave last weekend that has caused rapid snowmelt, however there is no warning in place for the park.
Markey said Cypress Creek was freezing, turbulent and dangerous due to rapid snowmelt on Cypress Mountain on Friday night.
Turbulent waters are less buoyant and harder for people and animals to float in compared to still water, but dogs will often be able to scramble out on their own.
Markey doesn't recall another call for a person drowning in the area, but says NSR has rescued at least one dog in the past.
"If you are close to bodies of water, keep your dog on a leash," said Markey. "And if the dog does go in, absolutely do not follow the dog in there and try not to get close to the water."
"Well-behaved" dogs are allowed to be off-leash in Cypress Falls Park, according to the District of West Vancouver's website.
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