Red Deer resident Stan Cappis is pictured in this undated photo.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Carrie Webb

A man from Red Deer, Alberta, who was presumed drowned after being swept away in the North Thompson River last month, is still missing.

His girlfriend of three years, Carrie Webb, is desperate for his body to be recovered.

“We know that he's gone. It’s extremely painful, but just having him out of the water, having him found completes the process and we can heal and find a way forward,” Webb said.

Stan Cappis, 50, was in Kamloops with his son visiting friends when the tragedy occurred on a beach near the Tournament Capital Ranch in the afternoon of July 12 when Cappis was swept away after rescuing his son from the river.

Webb was back home in Lacombe, Alberta waiting for Cappis to return the following day. She said she knew something was wrong when her texts to him were unread.

The last messages the couple exchanged expressed how much they missed each other and how they were looking forward to seeing each other.

“He read that one, an hour before everything happened,” Webb said. “By the time I went to bed he hadn’t read my other texts and hadn’t sent me a goodnight text. I woke up in the middle of the night and my messages were still unread.”

Webb and Cappis grew up in Lacombe and first met in elementary school. After high school they went their separate ways but reconnected and started dating three years ago.

They were planning to build a house to move in together.

“My life is forever changed now, I just don’t know where to go from here, it’s unchartered territory and not a situation I’d wish upon anyone,” she said.

Cappis is a father of three, and had his son for two weeks in the summer when they would take an annual trip to BC to see family and friends in the Okanagan and Kamloops.

He died on the last day of the trip.

While Webb isn’t completely clear on the details of the incident, she said the son and Cappis’ friend’s son were sitting on the sand at the river’s edge when it gave way and the youth were pulled into the current.

“One boy was able to get to shore while Stan jumped in to get his son,” Webb said. “The friend reached out to help and ended up in the water too. He was able to get the boy to shore, but saw Stan go under twice and come up and didn’t come up the third time.

“We’re sure Stan saw his son was safe on shore before he went under.”

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Webb wasn’t immediately contacted by local police because they didn’t know her last name, which the young son was unable to provide. She found out her boyfriend drowned through a news article.

“My friend showed me and I read the headline and everything was blurry after that,” she said.

Webb said the act of bravery by Cappis is not surprising. He was the kind of person who would jump to rescue anyone in need in a heartbeat.

“He was a safe man and would never put his children’s life at risk, his or anyone’s, there was no hesitation when he jumped into that water,” she said. “He was a great guy, a stand-up guy and just a great man.”

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She said her late boyfriend was fit and spent lots of time on the water paddleboarding, swimming and snorkelling.

Some local residents in Kamloops are advocating for more safety prevention measures to be taken after two near drownings occurred this summer involving international students and one drowning involving a father from Vernon in 2022. 

Webb said her boyfriend would want his tragedy to help push for more safety measures around the rivers in Kamloops.

“He wouldn’t want this to happen to anyone else, there should be warnings and signs and more education,” she said. “He wasn’t a risk taker, he was a safe man and would never want children’s lives to be put at risk.”

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Webb is hoping the public in Kamloops will continue to keep an eye out for Cappis to help bring closure to his friends and family. 

Rob Griffiths, a Kamloops resident who rescued an international student from drowning in the Thompson River on July 8 is nominating Cappis for the Governor General’s award for Bravery.

Despite an initial search by RCMP officers, a police dog, RCMP air services, firefighters and the public, Cappis wasn’t found.

Anyone who lives in and around the area of the North Thompson River south of the Tournament Capital Ranch are asked to keep an eye out for Cappis and to report any information to Kamloops RCMP at 250-828-3000, citing file 2024-22138.

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.

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