Teen rescued after failed attempt to swim Okanagan Lake

VERNON – A 19-year-old from Alberta was rescued from Okanagan Lake after a failed attempt to swim from Ellison Provincial Park near Vernon to the other side of the lake.

RCMP called Vernon Search and Rescue at about 5 p.m., Friday, June 12, and the volunteers launched their boats.

The teen was found an hour later, several hundred metres from the opposite shore.

“They returned him to Ellison Provincial Park where (he) apologized for his actions,” Vernon RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says. “It all started over some drinks and an argument.”

The teenager’s body temperature was low enough it was a concern and he was taken to Vernon Jubilee Hospital to be checked, Molendyk says.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Howard Alexander at halexander@infonews.ca or call 250-491-0331. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.

Howard Alexander

Assistant Editor Howard Alexander comes to iNFOnews.ca from the broadcasting side of the media business.

Howard has been a reporter, news anchor, talk show host and news director, first in Saskatchewan and then the Okanagan.

He moved his family to Vernon in the 90s and is proud to call the Okanagan home.

If you have an event to share contact Howard at 250-309-5343or email halexander@infonews.ca.