A 74-year-old hunter who went missing nearly a week ago has been found deceased.
Gordon Solloway’s body was found by a pair of hunters on Oct. 2 just after 8 p.m. on the Victor Forest Service Road, east of Kelowna.
Sheri Solloway said police informed her family of her father’s death around 11 p.m., telling her he was found in a waterbar, a feature that is used to prevent erosion on sloping roads.
“Of course we would have liked for him to come home alive, but we are just glad we could bring him back home,” said Sheri.
“He touched a lot of lives.”
Gordon Solloway was officially reported missing by his family on Sept. 26 after he didn’t return from a short hunting trip near James Lake.
In response, a search and rescue operation was launched and teams from Kelowna, Penticton and Vernon, assisted from the air by a fixed wing aircraft and an RCMP helicopter, searched an area of 4,200 square kilometres for five days before the search was suspended.
Family and friends also helped to try and find him.
Central Okanagan Search and Rescue initally focused their search on an area east of Kelowna after his truck was last seen by a security camera driving up Goudie Road.
The search was expanded several days later to include the area around Big White and McCullouch Lake recreational area.
The search was suspended by the RCMP on Oct. 1 after no new clues turned up about his whereabouts.
The RCMP said criminality is not believed to be a factor in his death. The BC Coroners Service is also investigating in an effort to determine his cause of death.
Solloway was originally born in Sydney, N.S., and moved to Kelowna with his family when he was two years old.
He lived in Kelowna for the remainder of his life, working for OK Ready Mix as a cement truck driver and batcher for 40 years.
Solloway also had a huge passion for hunting and fishing as his family said he was experienced at being out in the bush.
He is survived by his two children and his wife.
