The body of a lone female, the single occupant of a pick-up truck that entered the Thompson River 15 kilometres south of Ashcroft on the afternoon of Saturday, April 15, was recovered by members of the RCMP dive team on April 16.

The swiftwater rescue team of Kamloops Search and Rescue (KSR) was deployed to the site in the early afternoon of April 15, after receiving a report of a vehicle in the water. Ashcroft Fire Rescue and Ashcroft RCMP were also at the site.

KSR manager Alan Hobler said that the team arrived by helicopter and jet boat, and were able to locate and get to a pick-up truck in the river. He said that it appeared to have entered the river from a gravel bar off Drinkwater Road.

The search and rescue team was unable to determine whether or not there were any occupants of the truck, due to the swiftness of the current, the depth to which the truck was submerged, and the murkiness of the water. They were also unable to secure the vehicle enough to tow it from the water.

Hobler said that his team was stood down late on Saturday evening and the site was taken over by the RCMP, with the RCMP dive team on call. 鈥淭he RCMP is taking this seriously, so it鈥檚 a good indication that there is someone in the water,鈥� said Hobler on April 16. He noted that the RCMP dive team is 鈥渢rained and highly skilled for this task. Search and rescue isn鈥檛 able to enter the water like that.鈥�

The RCMP will release more details later in the week.