Missing man pulled from Okanagan Lake

PENTICTON – Last week's recovery of a man's body from Okanagan Lake can at least bring some closure to his family, a rescue official said.

The man has been identified by the B.C. Coroner's office as Dominic Cox, 25. He was pulled out of Okanagan Lake on Oct. 10.

Penticton Search and Rescue official Dale Jorgensen wouldn't call the find a fortunate event but "we certainly think it's good for the family for the body to have been located."

Jorgensen and his team, along with Vernon Search and Rescue, started searching the lake shortly after Cox went missing on Sept. 10. Cox was sitting on a crowded boat and at some point during the trip fell off the vessel's front end. He was not wearing a life jacket and he did not resurface.

Rescue officials had used sonar and other equipment to search the waters for almost a week but ran into mechanical difficulties, Jorgensen said.

Cox's family brought in a specialized search crew from Boise, Idaho on Oct. 7. Gene and Sandy Ralston used sonar to comb the waters and then a remote controlled underwater craft with a camera system to investigate items of interest.

Jorgensen said the Idaho team figured Cox's accident took place further south than what was previously estimated. The Ralstons located Cox and was able to bring his body to the surface with their craft where search and rescue officials took over the recovery operation.

To contact a reporter for this story, to send photos or videos, email Shannon Quesnel at squesnel@infotelnews.ca, call 250-488-3065, tweet @shannonquesnel1 or @InfoNewsPentict