Crews to search underwater in Kal Lake for missing North Okanagan man

The search for a missing Coldstream man is going underwater more than three months after he went missing.

Vernon North Okanagan RCMP will begin using sonar equipment on Kalamalka Lake this week as they look for 83-year-old Robert Lee Baines.

Baines, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's just before his disappearance, was last seen on Jan. 2 at ahis son's Coldstream home on Ponderosa Way.

Search and rescue crews helped police search Baines' neighbourhood  and Kalamalka Park in the weeks after, but had no success.

Crews will search the lake starting March 28, with a focus on the areas around Rattlesnake Point, according to an RCMP news release.

The boat will have flashing lights, so it's easily spotted by boaters. The detachment asked boaters to stay clear of crews as they search the area.

"It is requested that boaters stay a few hundred meters away from the search area," spokesperson Cpl. Tania Finn said in the release. "The wake from passing boats causes disturbances with the readings of the sonar which will extend the search efforts."

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