Haynes Point
On August 17, 2015 at 7:32pm the Osoyoos RCMP responded to a drowning on Osoyoos Lake.
A 12 year old girl camping with her family at Swiws (Haynes Point) provincial campground was walking in the shallow waters with her friend along the sand spit at the end of Swiws Point. Several waves caused the young girl to lose her footing and slip into the deeper water. Her friend held onto her hand yet the girl slipped further into the water to where her friend could no longer hold on. The young girl did not know how to swim and was not wearing a life jacket. She went under the water and did not surface. Countless people on shore as well as local boaters converged to the area and frantically searched the water. The search was joined by 4 RCMP members, the Osoyoos Fire Department and 3 helicopters that had been in the area working the fires. After nearly 40 minutes of searching, a heroic employee of the Swiws campground located the young girl in approximately 10 feet of water. He brought her up to the police boat at which time she was transported to shore. Despite the efforts of all emergency services, the young girl did not survive. The girl and her family were visiting from Calgary.
This is the second drowning in Osoyoos Lake this year. On June 28, a 34 year old male from North Vancouver drowned after falling off his Seadoo. His body was located and recovered on August 16 by Ralston and Associates from Boise, Idaho. Ralston and Associates use side-scan sonar to search for drowning victims. Two cadaver dogs from California assisted in that search and helped narrow the search area. The male was not wearing a life jacket.