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91ƵDistraught91Ƶ family still searching for B.C. man missing since atmospheric river

Robert Belding disappeared while walking his brother91Ƶs dog near Coquitlam River
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Multiple homes are seen surrounded by debris left by flooding from torrential rain from an atmospheric river weather system in Deep Cove in North Vancouver, on Tuesday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

The daughter of a man missing after taking a walk along the Coquitlam River remains hopeful her dad will be found alive four days after he disappeared.

Jessica Belding said her family is 91Ƶdistraught91Ƶ that 59-year-old Robert Belding is missing after walking his brother91Ƶs dog near the Metro Vancouver river on Sunday.

She said her dad and his brother went to a friend91Ƶs home that borders the river to help with a flooded basement and her dad took the dog for a walk but didn91Ƶt return.

Coquitlam was one of the hardest hit areas as an atmospheric river weather system rolled over southern B.C., bringing more than 250 millimetres of rain between Friday and Sunday.

Belding said she and other family members began searching on Sunday night, and while they found the dog, there91Ƶs been no sign of her father.

91ƵWe91Ƶre pretty distraught,91Ƶ she said in an interview on her cellphone while she was out searching for her dad on Wednesday.

91ƵI think some of us are pretty numb because it just doesn91Ƶt seem real. It91Ƶs getting harder by the day.91Ƶ

She said her dad enjoys the outdoors and she91Ƶs hopeful he has wasn91Ƶt too badly hurt, 91Ƶandmanaged to stay conscious, and he91Ƶs just somewhere where he can91Ƶt get out, and we haven91Ƶt found him yet.91Ƶ

Belding said there is overwhelming support from community members asking her how can they help, but people should stay off the water for safety reasons.

91ƵBut if anyone is in the area and they want to help, just keeping an extra eye, taking that extra time to look while they91Ƶre walking 91Ƶ just to see if they see any sign of someone somewhere, even in the bushes or on the side of the bank or anything.91Ƶ

At least three deaths have been linked to the torrential rain over the weekend.

A woman was killed Saturday when her home was swept away in a mudslide on the outskirts of Coquitlam, and two others died on the west coast of Vancouver Island when a road washed out and an overflowing river submerged their vehicles.

The District of North Vancouver said it is triaging its resources after the community was 91Ƶdrenched91Ƶ with nearly 350 millimetres of rain over the weekend.

The district said in a statement on its website that its teams will focus on life safety storm-related issues, emergency repairs, debris removal and assessing the full extent of the damage.

91ƵNorth Vancouver is well accustomed to heavy rain and stormy weather. However, no weather event in recent years has brought this much rainfall here,91Ƶ the statement said.

The district declared a local state of emergency on Sunday and ordered a mandatory evacuation order for six homes in the community of Deep Cove when an inspection found potential failure of private infrastructure that could create a public safety risk.





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