The couple were riding an ATV similar to this when they went missing Thursday night. Their bodies were found on Friday.
Image Credit: SOURCE/travelizmo.com
July 23, 2013 - 3:29 PM
UPDATE: 3:17 p.m. July 23, 2013
LAKE COUNTRY - The two people who died in the ATV accident in Lake Country Saturday have been identified.
They were Joshua Mitchel Hoffart, 30 of Lake Country, and Maria Casandra Karountzos, 30, of Creston.
Their families have been notified. The B.C. Coroners Service and RCMP continue to investigate these deaths.
UPDATE: 9:50 a.m. July 20, 2013
LAKE COUNTRY - The two people the RCMP and Search and Rescue volunteers were searching for in Lake Country backcountry have turned up dead.
The man and woman are believed to be around 30 years of age, but the RCMP haven't released their names or hometowns. They want to make sure their family members are notified first.
Cpl. Barbara Holley with Lake Country RCMP says their bodies, and the ATV they were driving, were found in a ravine on Oyama Lake Rd at 2:50 p.m. on Friday.
It appears they died from injuries they sustained in the accident. The exact cause of death will be determined by the B.C. Coroners Service, which has been called in to investigate the crash.
The discovery of the bodies came after a search involving officers from the Lake Country RCMP detachment, Kelowna Search and Rescue members, Lake Country fire fighters and paramedics with Emergency Health Services (EHS). An RCMP helicopter was also brought in to help with the search.
The pair had driven off into the backcountry on the quad from a home on Middle Bench Road at around 9 p.m. on Thursday. Police had said they weren’t familiar with the area.
A family member thought the couple was heading to the Oyama Lake Rd. lookout.
2:27 p.m. July 19, 2013
LAKE COUNTRY - A man and woman venturing out onto the backcountry roads of Lake Country late last night on a yellow Can AM 800 ATV haven't returned as scheduled, prompting the RCMP to call out a Search and Rescue team.
The pair are each 30 years old and left their home on Middle Bench Road about 10 p.m. Police say they are both unfamiliar with the area. An RCMP helicopter has also been deployed to assist in the search. Vernon RCMP have also been notified because it appears the couple were travelling in a northerly direction.
Anyone with information can contact Kelowna RCMP at 250-762-3300.
A missing couple has been found dead in the Lake Country backcountry. They were last seen leaving a home on Middle Bench Road in Oyama.
Image Credit: SOURCE/Google Maps
News from © iNFOnews, 2013