Smoke from the McDougall Creek wildfire fills the air and nearly blocks out the sun as people take in the view of Okanagan Lake from Tugboat Beach, in Kelowna, B.C., on August 18, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
April 08, 2025 - 12:13 PM
WEST KELOWNA - Police in West Kelowna, B.C., say they have opened a missing person investigation for someone last seen in the area of a landslide that washed over a road along the shore of Okanagan Lake.
RCMP say police have found "unique items" linked to the missing person in the area of the slide that occurred along Westside Road last Tuesday.
Mounties say teams with Central Okanagan Search and Rescue are continuing efforts to find the person, whose name police are not releasing.
Photos of the area posted by the contractor for the Transportation Ministry showed two rivers of mud and debris that came down from the hillside above.
An earlier statement from Central Okanagan Emergency Operations said the area was "significantly impacted" by the 2023 McDougall Creek Wildfire, and properties located in the post-wildfire areas are subject to a higher risk of landslides.
At the time, the operations centre said no injuries had been reported following the slide.
The mud and debris came down about 13 kilometres east of West Kelowna, cutting off access, but it has since reopened to single-lane alternating traffic.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 8, 2025.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2025