The search for a missing B.C. man, who is thought to be buried under a mudslide near the town of Slocan has been suspended because conditions in the area are too hazardous.
Bernhard Eigelshoven, a 53-year-old real estate agent, did not return home on Saturday after he went to check a blocked water line outside of his home, near a creek on the mountainside.
A rapid increase in temperatures caused an unusually strong spring runoff in the area, making the region prone to mudslides.
Search and rescue crews were pulled from the area on Monday and will remain off the site for the next 10 days because the conditions are dangerous and prone to subsequent mudslides, said Cpl. Todd Bowden of the New Denver RCMP.
"This is called a geophysical event, and the geophysics of this particular slide region are still such that there's a strong chance there will be another slide, and they come without notice, almost like an avalanche," he said.
There is no visual warning of the mudslides, either, he said, because of the dense forest in the area.
On Saturday, police were called to the area upon reports of the mudslide, where they came across the man's Jeep Cherokee vehicle.
In the second slide in two days, Highway 6 was closed in both directions over the weekend because of mud and debris.
Bowden said teams from the RCMP, the B.C. Ministry of Transportation, and local search and rescue crews were all searching the immediate area for the man before they were asked to suspend the search.
Highway 6 has since been reopened.
