The RCMP dive team was working Monday to find any trace of two Langley teens, who went missing in Nicola Lake, near Merritt.
Their canoe was located, overturned and partly submerged, in the lake early Monday morning.
Merritt RCMP received a call around 10:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 21 about two boys who hadn’t come back at their expected time. The local teens, 18 and 17 years of age, had been camping at a family property at the north end of Nicola Lake. They were expected home by supper and when they hadn’t returned, the family contacted the RCMP.
Merritt police officers went to the property and located all of their personal belongings still on scene, said Merritt RCMP Const. Tracy Dunsmore.
A shoreline search was held throughout the night by Nicola Valley Search and Rescue.
At 2 a.m. Monday morning three personal effects (ball cap, shoe and head lamp) were spotted on the shoreline.
“It was eerie finding the headlamp, with the light still on,” said Chris Lepsoe, NVSAR volunteer.
The local caretaker told police that he had seen the teens earlier that day but a canoe that was known to have been kept on the property was not accounted for.
The shoreline search produced no results. However, at dawn the RCMP helicopter located a half submerged canoe near the north end of the lake, confirmed Dunsmore.
The search continued all day Monday, and search and rescue officials continued to search the shoreline.
The Times has been told that the two teens are students at Langley high schools, but that has yet to be confirmed.
With files from the Merritt Herald