The search continues for the body of a Coquitlam teen who is presumed drowned after he fell into the water at Lynn Canyon in North Vancouver earlier this week.
Cole Marsh, 17, was at the popular park Monday afternoon when he reportedly climbed over the safety fences and jumped off a cliff near the Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge.
He was able to hang on to the rocks for about 30 minutes while rescuers made their way to him but he let go and was swept into the water. Rescuers have been at the scene daily since then but water levels have been too high to safely recover Marsh's body.
"The dive team has been out every morning to assess the water levels and the safety of going in to the water but it's still too dangerous," said North Vancouver Cpl. Richard De Jong. "At this point, there has been… no sighting of the body, so we're still in recovery mode."
The Lower Mainland District Air 1 helicopter and North Vancouver police boat have also been patrolling Lynn Creek and Burrard Inlet in the hopes of locating Marsh. De Jong said police would search for Marsh for "as long as it takes."
Marsh, who would have graduated from Terry Fox secondary this year, was well known in the lacrosse community as a talented goaltender, having played with the PoCo B Saints and the Burnaby Mountain Selects.
Burnaby coach Brent Hoskins described Marsh as a dedicated player "who would shake your hand at the end of every practice (and) ask you questions about anything he could improve on or work towards."
Last year, another Coquitlam resident died in the same area of Lynn Canyon. Pakistani exchange student Syed Wajahat Ali, 25, was with a group of friends when he jumped from a lower cliff into a pool but never resurfaced.
De Jong said Marsh's death comes early in the season in the busy tourist spot, which has seen a steep rise in cliff jumpers in recent years, from 8,861 in 2011 to just over 13,000 last year. The number of deaths has decreased dramatically since a park ranger program was implemented in 1993 but rangers don't start work until May.
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