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UPDATED: Search continues for missing man

The RCMP are looking for Bruce Van Hasstrecht, 57, a seasonal resident of the Lumby area
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Authorties are continuing to look for a seasonal resident of Mabel Lake, near Lumby.

On Saturday, RCMP officers attended a cabin in the 3500 block of Mabel Lake Road to try and confirm the whereabouts of Bruce Van Hasstrecht, 57, who residents permanently in Alberta.

“As result of police findings at the scene, the RCMP activated the Vernon Search and Rescue team along with an RCMP police dog team, which conducted a ground search Saturday and Sunday with negative results,” said Cpl. Dan Moskaluk, with the RCMP.

“Search resources also included the support of the RCMP southeast district air services helicopter.”

There is evidence that Van Hasstrecht was at the lake’s edge at one point prior to his disappearance.

“A search effort of Mabel Lake itself will resume once the RCMP underwater recovery team arrives in Lumby,” said Moskaluk.

“At this time Bruce Van Hasstrecht is considered as missing. However, police suspect he may have entered the lake and perished.”

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The search continues for a man missing near Lumby.

The RCMP helicopter will be out over Mabel Lake again Monday morning after much of the weekend was spent looking for the Alberta visitor.

”We are on standby,” said Pete Wise, with Vernon Search and Rescue.

The initial reports first came in Saturday at about 11 a.m. that the man was missing from a cabin in the 3500 block of Mabel Lake Road.

“We searched with two boat crews and ground teams and searched well into the night with no success,” said Wise.

Ground and water teams were back on scene at 9 a.m. Sunday without any success.

More details will be posted as they become available.

Vernon SAR was also called out to Hunter’s Range, near Enderby, Saturday after reports of snowmobilers needing assistance.

“They had gone down a drainage in the Kanaka Lake area and had got lost and stuck. Two more snowmobilers came to their aid and the second pair now were stuck and lost as well,” said Wise.

All four weren’t prepared to spend the night and decided to hike out heading towards Mara Mountain on the Skyline Trail.

“Because of their inreach beacon, we were able to send our specialized rescue team into the area, where they were located and brought down the mountain and taken to friends at Swansea Point,” said Wise.

“The four were not prepared — no survival equipment and the only thing that sped up the rescue was the inreach beacon. Going in the back country unprepared is never a good thing. These four were wet, tired and sore and they still had 12 kilometres to go.”