Body of missing commercial fishing captain found in Okanagan Lake

The body of a man who is presumed to have drowned in Okanagan Lake in the Vernon area last month has been recovered.

Commercial fishing captain Travis Van Hill was reported missing after his vessel overturned on Okanagan Lake near Ellison Provincial Park during a storm, July 24.

The search for Hill continued for several weeks until his body was found on the lake bottom by RCMP divers Wednesday, Aug. 16, according to an RCMP media release. 

“The Vernon North Okanagan RCMP offers their sincerest condolences to the family and friends of the deceased,” the release says.

Another person also went missing in the Vernon area during the same July 24 storm while kayaking on Kalamalka Lake. The body of Eli Buruca, 26, was pulled from the north end of the lake in Coldstream by the RCMP underwater recovery, Aug, 16.

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