Officials are planning a major scaled-up search on Friday for a man who went missing during last weekend’s atmospheric river.
Robert Belding, 59, was walking his brother’s dog near the Coquitlam River on Sunday when he disappeared.
The dog was found nearby, alive but wet and cold.
Coquitlam Search and Rescue now says a witness has reported seeing Belding being swept away after he went into the river to try to save the dog after it had fallen in.
Have you seen Robert Belding? He is still missing.
Coquitlam RCMP handout
RCMP and Coquitlam Search and Rescue have been using dogs, drones and boats to search the river but have found no sign of him.
Belding’s daughter says despite the witness account, the family is still hoping for a better ending.
“It’s pretty scary,” daughter Jessica Belding told Global News.
“I mean, the police assumed that’s like the most likely story is that he fell into the river, and after seeing the location, we assume that’s the most likely story as well. But there’s always the possibility that something else happens.”
Additional search and rescue groups are expected to join the search effort on Friday and swiftwater teams are expected to be back on the river.