A police search continued Monday for a 50-year-old who was swept away in the North Thompson River late last week, as Kamloops Search and Rescue reviewed drone footage from its efforts this weekend to locate the man.
Last Friday, Stan Cappis, from Red Deer, Alta., jumped into the river with a friend to rescue two youths who had stepped off a sandbar into a fast-moving portion of the North Thompson. The friend and two youths made it back to shore, but Cappis was last seen rounding the bend of the river.
Mounties responded to the area near the Tournament Capital Ranch just after 3 p.m. Despite an immediate search of the water and surrounding banks, including Police Dog Services, Air Services, Forensic Identification Services, Kamloops Fire and Rescue and civilians, Cappis was not located.
Paula Davies, Kamloops Search and Rescue president, said members of KSAR and the Shuswap Search and Rescue team “hammered” the area the following day with a jet boat, kayaks, drones and ground teams probing the shoreline.
“We did a river search from the point last seen to basically where the boat launches in Pioneer Park,” Davies said. “The kayaks went all the way down to Oak Hills Boulevard, so quite a ways down, and as well I had hummingbird drones up. So they did a drone search of the water.”
KSAR hasn’t been called out to the search again, but the team is reviewing drone footage from Saturday.
Davies said due to the amount of time that has surpassed, KSAR was concerned the team will be called in for a recovery mission.
“It's a tragedy. We feel for the family involved and we hope that he'll be recovered to give closure to the families,” she said.
She said the search was made difficult due to turbid waters, making it hard to see into the current.
“Sometimes we have to wait until the water goes down a bit before we can see things a little bit better,” she said. “With time, sometimes the body will move a little bit into a different location so that might make it easier to see.”
Kamloops RCMP Cpl. Crystal Evelyn confirmed air services were continuing to search for Cappis Monday, but he remains missing.
Cappis is described by RCMP as a white man with an athletic build and dark hair. He was last seen wearing shorts and sunglasses.
Following Cappis’ disappearance, RCMP has urged people to use extreme caution when in and around water, and to ensure children and adults alike are properly fitted with personal floatation devices.
Photo: Josh Dawson
A section of the North Thompson River as seen from the Tournament Capital Ranch.
