Specialized Recovery Team Posts Plans to Assist in Okanagan Lake Search

October 12 2026 - A post on the official HEART Team Facebook page indicates the Manitoba-based group is deploying to Okanagan Lake to assist in the search for a man missing since a paddleboarding incident on September 22.

No official confirmation from RCMP regarding the HEART deployment has been issued at this time.

The post states that the Hutterian Emergency Aquatic Response Team (HEART) is traveling from Manitoba at the family’s request with specialized underwater search and recovery equipment.

Multiple Craft were on the water the evening

It references the incident near Fintry Provincial Park and Carr’s Landing, where a man and woman were in distress on paddleboards last month.

A Kelowna Fire Rescue boat rescued the woman, but the man could not be located.

Rescue crews set up on both sides of Okanagan Lake

Local search efforts involving RCMP, Vernon Search and Rescue, Central Okanagan Search and Rescue, and other agencies continued for several days before surface operations were suspended.

The HEART post notes that despite those efforts, including boats, aircraft, and underwater resources, the man remains missing.

HEART specializes in underwater recovery of drowning victims and has assisted on similar cases in British Columbia and elsewhere.

ExNews previously reported on the multi-agency search that began the evening of September 22 and continued into the following days.

Specialized Recovery Team Posts Plans to Assist in Okanagan Lake Search