More victims identified from fatal mudslides near Lillooet, B.C.
CBC
A Vancouver couple travelling home from a weekend getaway to British Columbia's Okanagan have been identified as the latest victims of a fatal mudslide that swept over a B.C. highway Nov. 15.
Anita and Mirsad Hadzic were driving home when they were caught in the slide on Highway 99, also known as Duffey Lake Road, south of Lillooet, a town about 250 kilometres northeast of Vancouver.
Family friend Ali Azodi, who described Mirsad Hadzic as "like a brother," said the couple leave behind a two-year-old daughter.
The Duffey Lake slide is one of dozens of mudslides that took out major roads in southwestern British Columbia during a torrential rainstorm last weekend.
Authorities have recovered four bodies from the debris, while a fifth man remains missing.
Two fundraising campaigns have been set up, paying tribute to the couple.
"Anita and Mirsad were the most wonderful parents," said one fundraiser established to raise money to care for the child. "They were kind, hardworking and loved by so many."
"This devastating loss is felt by so many who loved them dearly," said a notice on the other fundraiser.
Earlier Sunday, another missing man killed in the mudslide was identified as Steven Taylor.
Taylor, who was from Calgary originally, moved to Vancouver a year ago with his three children and wife.
He was active in the rugby community.
On Saturday RCMP announced that the search at the Duffey Lake slide area had concluded after the bodies of three men were recovered, while one missing man remains unaccounted for.
Police confirmed that a woman's body was recovered from the slide on Nov. 16.
"All current search efforts have been exhausted and discussions are underway as to how and when, best to proceed," said a release from RCMP on Saturday.
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