The body of an Abbotsford man who went missing in early May has been found.
Damian Dutrisac was last seen May 7 after his fishing boat capsized on the Fraser River near the confluence of the Vedder River.
In a Facebook post July 13, his fiance Karyssa McLean said police told her his body was recovered around 9 a.m. July 12 from a sand and gravel quarry in the Upper Sumas Mountain area of the Fraser River.
“All our hard work and what seemed like endless days of searching has come to an end,” McLean wrote.
McLean thanked all those who helped look for Dutrisac, and said the sad discovery brings much-needed closure.
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“I think we all needed this closure not only for our own peace of mind, but just to know our boy Damian is in a safe and comfortable place like he deserves to be,” she wrote.
McLean knew was day was coming and knew it would be difficult, but she said that having it real and official gives her a chance to heal.
“It’s going to be a very long road ahead of me. But I know at the end I’ll be with my love again, and I’ll marry you when I get to heaven,” she wrote. “You are the most perfect man to walk this earth. I know that’s where you will be waiting for me. Now heaven’s perfect angel.”
Dutrisac and friend Andrew Newton were fishing on the Fraser when their boat got snagged on something, and began to fill with water.
Newton was able to swim to shore and waited until a passing boater rescued him more than an hour later. Dutrisac, who wasn’t able to reach a life jacket before he was swept overboard, disappeared.
Water, ground and air searches by police, search and rescue and volunteers failed to locate him.
A GoFundMe to fund the search raised $10,380.
With files from Jennifer Feinberg
