Lumby man drowns in swollen creek

Published: June 06, 2009 9:00 AM Morning Star:

For the third time in as many weeks, a North Okanagan resident has drowned in a local body of water. Lumby RCMP continue to investigate the drowning death Friday of a 51-year-old Lumby resident. The man was reported missing at noon Friday. Police learned he had been partying at a house on Maple Street the night before. The victim rented a room at the house which backs directly onto Bessette Creek. Lumby RCMP feared the man had fallen into the fast-moving creek and drowned. Vernon Search and Rescue was called out Friday afternoon, and the man’s body was found approximately one-kilometre north along the swollen creek in a logjam. Police say alcohol is a factor in the death. The victim has been identified as John Richard Thomas, and his family in the U.S. has been notified. A Lumby man drowned in Sugar Lake on the May long weekend, and a Vernon man drowned while boating on Kal Lake May 22.