Newly-wed survivor of Burns Lake blast missing, believed drowned in B.C. lake

BURNS LAKE, B.C. – A Burns Lake, B.C., man is being remembered as a fighter — and a life saver.

Sid Neville is missing and presumed drowned after a storm swamped his boat as he was fishing in the frigid waters of Francois Lake, 25 kilometres south of Burns Lake, on June 7.

Neville’s 21-year-old nephew says his uncle pushed him onto the overturned hull of the boat, saving his life, but the 35-year old slipped underwater and did not resurface.

His mother-in-law, Val White, says Neville was looking forward to better things after being injured in the Burns Lake sawmill blast in January 2012.

She says he was severely burned and endured incredible pain during his long recovery, which included a recent skin graft operation, but he was on his way to better health.

White says Neville married her daughter, Marley, just two weeks ago and his young widow is now urging RCMP not to scale back search efforts in the long, deep lake before her husband’s body is found. (CKPG)