Male missing from Waugh Lake finally located

Sunshine Coast

2022-04-11 08:48 PDT

File # 2019-3815

RCMP Sunshine Coast, with the help of two dedicated volunteers, have closed the file on Thomas Hines, a then-26-year-old originally from Nova Scotia reported missing in June 2019.  Hines was believed to have drowned while canoeing on Waugh Lake in Egmont, BC.

At the time, RCMP had exhausted all available avenues, including an aerial search of the lake by helicopter, the interior by the RCMP dive team, and the shore and forested area beyond by Sunshine Coast Search and Rescue, with negative results.

Mike Clement, of SAVI Marine, who assisted police at the outset, was the one to suggest RCMP consider enlisting the services of Gene and Sandy Ralston, a couple renowned for donating their time and expertise as underwater search and recovery specialists.

Impressed by their success in similar cases, Constable Cole Vander Helm, who had been involved in the original investigation, reached out to the Ralstons to request their help. And in early April of this year, after border restrictions were lifted, the Ralstons drove their RV and trailered sonar-equipped boat from Boise, Idaho, to the Sunshine Coast for one more attempt to locate Hines.

The Ralstons, who are both in their 70s, are methodical and painstaking in their search for bodies. After RCMP briefed them on the file and police actions at the time Hines went missing, the Ralstons surveyed the area and on April 4th, craned their boat onto Waugh Lake to begin the work. With Constable Vander Helm aboard, the Ralstons towed their sonar back and forth through the water in slow, overlapping strips.

Within 90 minutes, they spotted something on the lake bottom that they believed could be Hines. The Ralstons then deployed their submersible remote operated underwater vehicle (ROUV) and confirmed it was a human body. The RCMP Underwater Dive and Recovery Team (URT), was notified and on April 6th, divers brought Hines, the Ralstons one hundred and twenty-seventh recovery, to the surface.

After utilizing dental records to confirm it was Tom Hines, Cst. Vander Helm contacted the family  in Nova Scotia.  "I am relieved that with the help of the Ralstons, we were able to bring some peace and closure to Tom's family and friends" said Cst. Vander Helm. "Tom's parents were very thankful for everyone who assisted in locating their son". 

 

 

 

 

Released by

Cst. Karen Whitby

Media Relations Officer
Sunshine Coast RCMP
5800 Teredo St. Sechelt, BC V0N 3A0
Office: 604-885-2266
Fax: 604-885-9473

Email: SCRCMPmedia@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
Website: bc-cb.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/sunshinecoast (English only)

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