The BC Coroners Service is confirming that remains of a second victim of the Johnsons Landing mudslide have been found.

The discovery of the second person occurred about 1 p.m. on July 16 as searchers excavated an area believed to be the driveway of the home where Valentine Webber, 60, and his daughters Diana, 22, and Rachel, 17, resided.

The second body has not been positively identified, but is that of a young woman. The body of a male, presumptively identified as Mr. Webber, was recovered from the same general area on the afternoon of July 15. The two bodies were located about three metres apart.

The three members of the Webber family along with German visitor Petra Frehse had all been missing since the massive mudslide hit the tiny community on July 12.

The BC Coroners Service will begin work immediately to confirm the identities of the two bodies recovered to date.

The BC Coroners Service assumed the lead role in efforts to recover the remains on July 15 after the unified command structure concluded there was no possibility of finding any survivors of the huge slide.

Efforts to recover the remains of the remaining two missing people will continue on July 17 as long as the site remains safe for the searchers.

The BC Coroners Service extends its thanks to the Kaslo and Nelson RCMP members, Kaslo Search and Rescue, and the heavy urban search-and-rescue team Canada Task Force One for their invaluable help in the search and recovery efforts.

Contact:

Barbara McLintock
Coroner, Strategic Programs
BC Coroners Service
250 356-9253 or 250 213-5020