The RCMP has suspended the search for Sophie Dowsley, an Australian woman who went missing while hiking with her boyfriend near Harrison Hot Springs earlier this month.
Dowsley, 34, and her partner Greg Tiffin, 44, never returned after heading out for an excursion at Statlu Lake on July 8, prompting a search effort involving Mounties and Kent Harrison Search and Rescue.
The search for Tiffin came to a sad end last week when an RCMP dive team recovered his body from the water, and on Monday Mounties announced they have exhausted all efforts to locate Dowsley.
“A thorough ground and air search of the region has been conducted for Sophie. Although the initial land and air search is suspended our missing person investigation remains open,” Cpl. Mike Rail said in a news release. “RCMP remain in close contact with her family”.
The search lasted 10 days and involved the Lower Mainland District Integrated Police Dog Service and members of the Emergency Response Team.
Four days after Dowsley and Tiffin headed out on their hike, search crews located their pickup truck was found near a hiking trail. Dowsley's sunglasses were later located on a rock at the top of Statlu Falls, and some of Tiffin's personal items were discovered in the water below.
Officials said the waterfall has a history of fatalities, including a number of deaths recorded nearly 20 years ago.
