Public Safety and Solicitor General
The BC Coroners Service has confirmed the identities of two men who died following a swimming incident on Saltspring Island on Aug. 16, 2016.
They are Masashi Shintani and Ryo Yamaguchi, both aged 25. Both men were originally from Japan, but Mr. Shintani had been most recently living in Vancouver and Mr. Yamaguchi in the Victoria area.
They were visiting Saltspring Island on a short vacation and about 6 p.m. on Aug. 16, 2016, went swimming with a third person at Weston Lake, a small lake near Ruckle Provincial Park. Their companion reached a wharf in the lake but Mr. Shintani and Mr. Yamaguchi did not. They were rescued from the water and transported to Lady Minto Hospital in Ganges, but they could not be resuscitated.
The BC Coroners Service and RCMP continue to investigate this death.
The families of both men have been notified of their deaths. On behalf of family members, the BC Coroners Service asks that the media respect their privacy at this difficult time.
