Crews recover body from B.C. river in search for Robert Belding
Five days after Robert Belding disappeared from B.C.’s Lower Mainland during an intense atmospheric river, search crews have recovered a body.
The 59-year-old went missing from Galette Park, near the Coquitlam River, late Sunday afternoon, as heavy rain was falling across the region.
On Friday, crews found a body in the river. The remains were airlifted out on a stretcher.
Coquitlam Search and Rescue had co-ordinated with BC Hydro to reduce the water flowing from a nearby dam, giving crews a better opportunity to look for Belding.
The missing man’s family had been holding out hope he might be found alive, though authorities announced their search effort had become a recovery mission by Thursday.
Belding was walking his brother’s dog when he disappeared last weekend, and officials believe he fell into the raging river and was swept away.
The golden retriever was found later that evening downstream, soaking wet but unhurt.
The RCMP quickly deployed a drone equipped with night vision and infrared cameras, but could not locate Belding – and the river levels were high in the days that followed, creating dangerous conditions for searchers.
That did not deter Belding’s daughter, who spent Tuesday in the pouring rain searching for him on foot.
“It’s just hard. It doesn’t feel real,” Jessica Belding said at the time. “Obviously everyone’s pretty distraught.”
Other family told CTV News Belding was a generous and kind person who would do anything to help others.
The circumstances of his disappearance reflect that – Belding was only in the area at the time to help with a friend’s flooded basement.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Raised in Sask. after his family fled Hungary, this man spent decades spying on communists for the RCMP
As a Communist Party member in Calgary in the early 1940s, Frank Hadesbeck performed clerical work at the party office, printed leaflets and sold books.
Bird flu, measles top 2025 concerns for Canada's chief public health officer
As we enter 2025, Dr. Theresa Tam has her eye on H5N1 bird flu, an emerging virus that had its first human case in Canada this year.
DEVELOPING Body found in wheel well of plane at Maui airport
A person was found dead in the wheel well of a United Airlines flight to Maui on Tuesday.
Police identify victim of Christmas Day homicide in Hintonburg, charge suspect
The Ottawa Police Service says the victim who has been killed on Christmas Day in Hintonburg has been identified.
Christmas shooting at Phoenix airport leaves 3 people wounded
Police are investigating a Christmas shooting at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix that left three people injured by gunfire.
Ship remains stalled on St-Lawrence River north of Montreal
A ship that lost power on the St. Lawrence River on Christmas Eve, remains stationary north of Montreal.
Your kid is spending too much time on their phone. Here's what to do about it
Wondering what your teen is up to when you're not around? They are likely on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram or Snapchat, according to a new report.
Bird flu kills more than half the big cats at a Washington sanctuary
Bird flu has been on the rise in Washington state and one sanctuary was hit hard: 20 big cats – more than half of the facility’s population – died over the course of weeks.
6,000 inmates stage Christmas Day escape from high-security Mozambique prison
At least 6,000 inmates escaped from a high-security prison in Mozambique's capital on Christmas Day after a rebellion, the country's police chief said, as widespread post-election riots and violence continue to engulf the country.