COLUMBIA VALLEY, B.C. -- Update: Police announced on Aug. 19 that the remains of the missing man had been recovered from the Kootenay River. The original story follows.

RCMP with the Columbia Valley, B.C., detachment say the search for a man who went missing near the Canal Flats area of the Kootenay River has been suspended.

Police say the 43-year old Edmonton man had been recreating with his family and was walking on a sandbar in the river Thursday afternoon when his dog got caught in the river's current as it tried to swim out to him.

Cpl. Jesse O'Donaghey, spokesman for the RCMP Southeast District, says police received reports the man lost his footing and fell in the water as he tried to grab the dog.

O'Donaghey says the man failed to resurface, though his pet was able to swim safely back to shore.

Search and rescue crews, along with police divers, scoured the area on Thursday and Friday without finding anything.

Police say the river conditions have been challenging and that after exhausting all possible efforts to locate the man the difficult decision was made to suspend the search.

They add that officials will continue to monitor the river level and conduct periodic shoreline searches and aerial searches as conditions allow.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 1, 2020.