The Semiahmoo Peninsula is mourning the death of a 26-year-old who was killed Friday while cliff-diving north of Pemberton.
Whistler Pemberton RCMP Staff Sgt. Steve LeClair confirmed Monday that an RCMP dive team recovered the body of the man in Anderson Lake around 11 a.m. Sunday. He was about 70 feet underwater.
LeClair said the man is from Surrey, but at the family’s request, police have not yet released his identity.
Condolences posted to the Facebook site of the victim’s brother describe him as someone who “touched so many people’s lives.”
“(He) always had a very happy spirit, and will be missed by many,” writes one friend.
“Your brother did so much and will be remembered by many as a kind, fun-loving, outgoing, adventurous guy,” writes another.
The victim, an operations manager for an adventure travel company that was founded by a pair of Elgin Park Secondary graduates in 2003, had been boating with friends on Anderson Lake Friday when he climbed a cliff to jump into the water. It is estimated he jumped from a height of about 175 feet.
When he did not resurface, the man’s friends dove in to look for him, then called for help. Extensive searches by police and search-and-rescue officials were unsuccessful.
The victim’s Facebook page describes him as a current resident of Thailand. His bio on the tour company’s website notes he travelled extensively around the world.
“I’ve camped around Australia, hitchhiked through New Zealand, surfed in Hawaii…” the victim writes.
Thailand, he notes, “blew me away.”
