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LILLOOET, B.C. — Specialized alpine search-and-rescue teams operating in rugged mountain terrain south of Lillooet have recovered the bodies of three men following a catastrophic mudslide along Highway 99, bringing the confirmed death toll to four while one motorist remains unaccounted for.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), coordinating alongside regional search-and-rescue volunteers, provincial emergency management teams, and geotechnical specialists, formally suspended active ground and aerial grid operations along the mountain corridor, locally designated as Duffey Lake Road. Officials cited deteriorating winter weather conditions, sub-zero temperatures, and an acute risk of secondary slope failures for the decision to wind down tactical search efforts following an intensive multi-day deployment.
The lethal debris torrent struck approximately 42 kilometers south of Lillooet on Nov. 15, when unprecedented rainfall triggered a catastrophic slope collapse. Tens of thousands of tons of timber, dislodged bedrock, and liquefied glacial till swept across the roadway, shearing vehicles off the pavement and depositing wreckage deep into an adjacent alpine canyon.