The search for the missing and presumed drowned 33-year-old man in Trout Creek has been suspended due to high river flows.
The man, identified by RCMP as David Shackleton of Peachland, was tossed from an ATV into the fast-moving waters of Trout Creek Saturday around 6 p.m.
Shackleton was a passenger on the ATV quad when the driver lost control of the vehicle which flipped over while crossing a bridge at the 15-kilometre mark of the Princeton Summerland Road in the area of Faulder, about 10 kilometres west of Summerland.
“The driver (of the ATV) was taken into custody for a short time Saturday at the time of the incident and he did provide breath samples with the result being he was issued a 24-hour driving prohibition under the Motor Vehicle Act,” said Cpl. Dan Moskaluk District Advisory NCO (media relations) South East District.
According to Moskaluk, the search for the man which involved Penticton and District Search and Rescue, a police service dog and the RCMP helicopter, began immediately and the helicopter was able to make two passes over the area before having to stop due to fading light conditions.
The other searchers also failed to find any sign of the man who has not yet been identified.
The search resumed Sunday and lasted until about mid-afternoon on Monday before being stopped.
The RCMP Southeast District Traffic Services collision analyst attended and examined the scene.
According to Moskaluk investigators are considering whether alcohol consumption on the part of the quad operator may have been a contributing factor.
The driver was released from police custody on Saturday without charges.
The accident comes on the heels of a warning from the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations about the dangers of rivers, creeks and streams due to the high runoff conditions as a result of the melting snow at higher elevations.
The conditions result in higher than normal and much faster water flows which are expected to continue well into the spring.
Water levels are being monitored on a 24-hour basis to determine when the search for the body can safely resume.