Woman dies after being swept away in Rubble Creek

Police in Squamish say a woman was swept away after entering fast moving water in Rubble Creek in Garibaldi Lake Provincial Park on Sunday.

At approximately 2:50 pm on July 29th RCMP responded to multiple calls regarding a man and woman who had been swept away in the fast moving water of Rubble Creek. According to police a 27 year old man from Surrey and a 23 year old woman from Burnaby were hiking in the area and decided to cool down in the water when the incident occurred.

RCMP say the man was able to get himself safely to shore with minor injuries, but unfortunately the woman was carried away in the extreme current. Multiple emergency crews were on scene including RCMP, Squamish Fire Rescue, the BC Ambulance Service, BC Parks, and Search & Rescue (SAR) from Squamish, Whistler and Pemberton. SAR required the expertise of their swift water teams to rescue the man as the white water of Rubble Creek was so intense.

The woman was located deceased by SAR teams around 7:30 pm. She was found approximately 800 metres downstream from where she fell in.

Police are urging the public to use caution when recreating in the region and to know your surroundings; “Squamish RCMP as well as the Search and Rescue Teams from the Squamish area have seen far too many tragic incidents over the past few months” stated Corporal Sascha Banks. “We want people to come and see our beautiful area and explore but you need to be aware, to be prepared, to be educated, to be safe, and to understand the fast moving waters in this region. Be knowledgeable about undercurrents, rocks, snow and glacier fed waters, and if you don’t know…ask those who do.”

The BC Coroner’s Service has now taken over the investigation and RCMP have notified the woman’s family but her name will not be released at this time.