Kamloops RCMP officers on the Overlanders Bridge looking towards the Riverside Park beach around 7:40 p.m. on July 24, 2026. (Image Credit: Victor Kaisar/CFJC Today)

By Elora McCormack

Missing swimmer

Search underway for swimmer presumed drowned at Riverside Park in Kamloops

Jul 25, 2026 | 9:04 AM

KAMLOOPS — Festivities at Riverside Park took a turn for the worse as Kamloops Search and Rescue (KSAR) are looking for a missing swimmer who is presumed to have drowned.

KSAR was dispatched Saturday morning (July 25) in the midst of the seventh annual Kamloops International Buskers Festival, and they’re urging people to give emergency crews room to work safely.

Kamloops RCMP told CFJC Today that a man was seen outside of the Riverside Park swimming area. Police say he was in distress before he went underwater, and has not been seen since.

“It’s a presumed drowning based on what we know and the searches Friday evening,” said a Kamloops RCMP spokesperson.

“At this point, it’s a likely recovery based on the timeline and KSAR is heading that now.”

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The search began Friday evening (July 24) and teams are back searching both the shoreline and in the water as KSAR mobilized its swiftwater and ground search teams.

“The swimming area at Riverside Park beach is closed today (July 25) in support of Kamloops Search and Rescue while they conduct a search of the river and shoreline,” the City of Kamloops said in an online statement.

This comes shortly after the provincial officials urged vigilance around water as part of National Drowning Prevention Week, and it follows a spike in preventable deaths this year.

by Elora McCormack

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Search underway for swimmer presumed drowned at Riverside Park in Kamloops

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