The body of a man who drowned in Lake Revelstoke after jumping off a bridge was recovered by the RCMP Thursday afternoon.
Kody Skye Greveling, 28, of Coldstream, B.C., drowned after diving off the Laforme Creek Bridge on Highway 23, about 20 kilometres north of Revelstoke, at around 7 p.m. on Wednesday, July 30.
On Thursday, his co-worker Elliott was back at the bridge to place some flowers in tribute of his colleague. He placed one bouquet at the side of the road and threw another into the lake.
Elliott said they were at the lake relaxing after taking the afternoon off work due to an incident at their work site.
Greveling — who Elliott described as a daredevil — made one jump from the 25-metre high bridge. Before they left, he decided to go for one more jump. The second time, he attempted to do a flip, but failed to land properly.
He hit the water hard and never re-surfaced.
“He’s a jokester. At first we thought he was joking, but then he wasn’t coming up whatsoever,” said Elliott. “We dove in the water, but by then it was too late.”
Elliott said they’d only known each other for a month, but that they hit it off right away.
“He’s a friendly man so we’ve just come to pay our respects before the family comes out here,” said Elliott. “It’s devastating, especially having so much fun and the fun turns to tragedy.”
He described Greveling as “down-to-earth” and a bit of a redneck. His attitude was, “Take me as I am, or if you don’t like me, get lost,” said Elliott. “The whole crew took a liking to him.”
RCMP and Revelstoke Search & Rescue conducted a search of the area that evening, with no signs of Greveling. The search continued on Thursday until his body was recovered about 20 metres from shore in 12 metres of water by the RCMP dive team Thursday evening.
The BC Coroners Service is investigating the incident.
