Crews face dangerous conditions while pinpointing remaining B.C. slide victims

JOHNSONS LANDING, B.C. – Safety of the recovery teams and a realistic chance of finding any other victims are the two key issues as the B.C. Coroner’s Service takes command at the scene of a massive mudslide in southeastern B.C.

Coroner’s spokeswoman Barb McLintock says an assessment is underway and Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe is in the Kootenay hamlet of Johnsons Landing where the slide tore through on July 12, engulfing three homes.

McLintock says although weekend rain and unstable ground has complicated recovery efforts, crews are optimistic they will find 64-year-old German visitor Petra Frehse and sisters Rachel Webber and Diana Webber.

A body, believed to be that of 60-year-old Valentine Webber, was uncovered near the foundation of one of the devastated homes Sunday afternoon, giving crews a better idea of where to look for his 17 and 22-year-old daughters.

Meanwhile, damage assessment is underway in the southeastern B.C. resort community of Fairmont Hot Springs, northeast of Cranbrook, after a new slide Sunday afternoon sent boulders, trees and mud spilling through the centre of town.

No one was hurt, but about 100 people have been displaced while four properties are damaged, a hillside hotel was evacuated and campers at a nearby RV park remain stranded after a bridge washed out.