Body found in Okanagan Lake with help from high-profile sonar expert

Credit to Author: Stephanie Ip| Date: Sun, 11 Aug 2019 19:08:52 +0000

West Kelowna RCMP are working to identify a body that was pulled from Okanagan Lake over the weekend.

According to police, the recovery took place on Saturday morning just before 9 a.m.

Gene Ralston, an Idaho, Utah-based sonar expert, had been called in to help locate the body, which was found at a depth of 170 feet about half a kilometre from the shores of Kelowna’s Gyro Beach.

The B.C. Coroners Service is now helping to identify the body before notifying family.

“We’d like to thank Mr. Ralston for his invaluable assistance with this challenging recovery,” said Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey.

“We’d also like to extend our appreciation to Shelter Bay Marina, Dockside Marine and Shoreline Pile Driving for their‎ support of our operations on the lake.”

No further details have been released.

Ralston helped to locate the site where American Laci Peterson’s body was dumped before it washed up on a San Francisco Bay shore, a case that was highly publicized in late 2002 and early 2003. Peterson was eight-months pregnant when she disappeared. Her husband Scott was later convicted of first-degree murder for her death and second-degree murder for the death of their son.

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