Kamloops resident and water safety advocate stands at Overlander Beach along the Thompson River.

(SHANNON AINSLIE / iNFOnews.ca)

A Kamloops man is taking the next step in his campaign to improve water safety on the Thompson River without assistance from the city.

Rob Griffiths has been advocating for more river safety measures since he saved two international students from drowning in the river after they jumped off a float plane dock near the airport in July, 2024. The following day, Stan Cappis from Alberta was swept away in the North Thompson River and his body has yet to be found.

“I was at my physical limit pulling those students in, it could have been a triple drowning,” Griffiths said. “I still look for Mr. Cappis when I’m walking along the river.”

When international student Jatin Garg drowned while trying to retrieve a volleyball from the Thompson River last month, Griffiths sent a couple of letters to the City of Kamloops asking that it put up signs to warn people about the danger and to install life rings at beaches around the city.

Griffiths also asked the city for an audit of it's aquatic safety management from the Lifesaving Society of BC, the provincial authority for water safety that offers services for municipal and waterfront operators.

The city’s lawyer responded with an email stating the it will be reviewing its current signage to see if there are more effective ways of communicating the dangers, however, being a riverfront city it comes with “significant privileges and challenges.”

“The unfortunate reality of our unique geography is that there is no mechanism by which the City can physically prevent individuals from accessing the river," the letter read. "There is no perfect way to communicate the risks of river swimming by way of physical signage and persons determined to access the river may overlook these warnings.

"Unfortunately, this places a certain amount of personal responsibility on individuals to assess their own swimming ability, educate themselves on the dangers of the river, and take steps to protect themselves in and around the river.”

The letter listed additional steps beyond signage the city takes to prevent “river-related harms,” which includes conducting wide-reaching public education campaigns to educate residents and visitors on the dangers such as Kamloops Fire Rescue’s warnings on local radio stations.

Since 2023, the city and the Thompson Rivers University Students’ Union has offered free beginner swimming lessons for international students.

There is a lifeguarded at the swimming area at Riverside Park which the city said is the only safe place to swim and swimming anywhere else on the river is not recommended.

Installing life ring stations along the river is not feasible, the city said.

“One such reason being that the installation of life ring stations may encourage bystanders to put themselves in harm’s way by attempting to perform river rescues," the city's lawyer's letter stated. "It is often dangerous for even trained lifeguards to conduct river rescues, let alone untrained bystanders. The City cannot encourage untrained bystanders to place themselves in danger by attempting to rescue others in the river.”

In the event of a riverfront emergency, the city recommends bystanders call 9-1-1 and follow the advice of emergency professionals.

The letter did not address Griffith’s request for the city to get the water safety audit done.

“Hazard communication is done at the place of the hazard, and all we have are little signs here and there saying ‘Danger No Lifeguard on Duty,” Griffiths said. “It doesn’t convey how risky it is.

“Bystanders need a safe way to rescue people without entering the water. The first thing you do is throw something. The easiest and most approved thing to throw is a life ring.”

Griffiths has started the Thompson Rivers Water Safety Society as a more organized way to communicate the message and bring volunteers together.

It includes a fundraiser to install the lifesaving equipment at several beaches including along Schubert Drive, at docks and on the Overlanders Bridge. 

He is attempting to raise $10,000 to buy the equipment and expects roughly $5,000 will be needed to keep it maintained.

Kamloops has experienced four drownings in just over a year. Stan Cappis from Red Deer, Alberta drowned at the Tournament Capital Ranch in July 2024, an unidentified male drowned in Sept. 2024, international student Jatin Garg was swept away on July 6, and Kamloops resident Braden Wallace-Peters was swept away on July 30.

“If there were life rings at Overlander Beach and the Tournament Capital Ranch, Mr. Garg and Stan Cappis wouldn’t have drowned,” Griffiths said. “And we’re not recording close calls, we don’t have data on those.

“Some of these victims are not local and don’t have family members here to make a noise and keep the focus on this.”

To contact a reporter for this story, email Shannon Ainslie or call 250-819-6089 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above. SUBSCRIBE to our awesome newsletter here.

News from © iNFOnews, 2025