When someone finds a foot in a boot on the shores of Sasamat Lake, any SAR member must wonder whether someone was reported missing, and since Sasamat is in the middle of Coquitlam SAR’s search area, must also wonder if he or she had searched for them.
The boot, a picture of which is reproduced below, was found by a youth attending the Sasamat Outdoor Centre. The BC Coroner’s service reported that they were looking for information from the public on who may have owned the boot.
The boot is a black Cougar-brand hiking boot, men’s size 12. It has a blue interior felt lining, and the metal eyelets were significantly rusted, suggesting it could have been in the water for some time.
Today, the BC Coroner’s Office has confirmed that they solved the mystery of who the boot beloged to and that it was indeed the subject of a search that Coquitlam SAR had performed in 1987.
From the archives, the front page of the Tri-City news with two Coquitlam SAR members and the subject’s boat.
According to the search report (reproduced below), the team was called by the RCMP to look for someone missing in Sasamat Lake. We recovered an overturned boat, motor, fishing gear and thermos, searched the shoreline (this would have been for the subject or his tracks), and the RCMP dive team responded as well. 56.5 person hours were spent on the search (by our team).
Both the RCMP and the BC Coroner’s service were made aware of Coquitlam SAR’s records and involvement in this search. We can only hope that information we provided helped resolving this mystery.
It’s interesting to note that Dan Cook, the SAR manager for this search, only recently retired from the team — but still has a lifetime membership.
The team would like to offer our condolences to any member of the subject’s family or friends.
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