Teen who died in B.C. canoe accident identified, 3 still missing

CTV National News: Tragedy on the water A teen is dead and three others are still missing after a canoeing trip goes wrong. Penny Daflos has story behind the search effort.

A 19-year-old has died and three others remain missing after their canoe flipped on Slocan Lake, north of Nelson, B.C., on Saturday.

Police have not identified the victim, but Dan Nicholson -- a friend who lent the group the canoe -- confirmed to CTV Vancouver on Sunday her name was Lily Harmer-Taylor.

Her identity has also been confirmed on social media by her family.

On Saturday, emergency crews found the teen unconscious near the glacier-fed lake. She was transported to hospital, where she died overnight, Sgt. Darryl Little said. Three other canoeists, all males between the ages of 15 and 21, are still missing.

RCMP say the group likely began their canoeing trip at around 5 p.m. on Saturday. In a statement released Sunday, Little said none of them appeared to have been wearing life jackets when the boat overturned, and the conditions of the ice-cold water were relatively calm at the time.

He said the partially submerged canoe was later spotted by a male who was walking along a trail, near a beach.

Shortly after discovering the canoe, the male ran to a nearby home to contact police. The three missing teens have been identified as Hayden Kyle, 21, Skye Donnet, 18, and Jule Wiltshire-Padfield, 15.

Nicholson, who knew all four canoeists well, said he can't imagine how the parents of the missing males or Harmer-Taylor are coping.

"I can’t image what it would be like to be one of the parents," he told CTV Vancouver. "It’s hard enough just being a friend of the parents or a friend of the kids."

He told The Canadian Press that Harmer-Taylor grew up in the area and was a "marvelous woman."

"I've known her for many, many years."

Nicholson said she and her boyfriend, Wiltshire-Padfield, were planning on going on a hitchhiking trip across Canada. He said Kyle recently got a job as an electrician and Donnet was working in construction.

On Sunday, police conducted a helicopter search in B.C.'s West Kootenay region for the missing males, and two boats have been searching the lake. On Monday, it is expected an RCMP dive team will conduct an underwater search.

Meanwhile in Quebec, the Life Saving Society said two men drowned Saturday night on Lake of Two Mountains, near Oka, Que.

It is believed the two men were out fishing in a canoe, which capsized due to high winds and choppy water. A passerby notified local police after spotting someone in the frigid water.

Both men were retrieved from the lake and rushed to hospital, where they died.

They have been identified as Craig Walker, 31, and Raymond Adams, 34, both from Montreal's West Island.

With files from CTV Vancouver, CTV Montreal and The Canadian Press