RCMP in Powell River are asking for the public’s help to find a missing boater.
They say Mark Braunagel travelled to Texada Island on Oct. 15 to purchase a boat and was last seen leaving the island with an individual he hired to help run the vessel.
The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre received a mayday call from the boat the next day, reporting that they were taking on water south of Hornby Island. A search of the shoreline near the distress call was done, but no trace of the boat was found.
On Oct. 22 at around 2 p.m., a body washed up on the shore of Gabriola Island and was identified as one of the people on board the vessel.
At this time Braunagel is still unaccounted for and anyone who finds evidence of boat wreckage in the area is asked to call Powell River RCMP at 604-485-6255.
