By James Peters

Nearly a week after her car was washed away, still no sign of Valerie Morris

Aug 17, 2018 | 11:17 AM

CACHE CREEK, B.C. — A woman presumed washed away in a mudslide near Cache Creek last weekend could be far downstream in a nearby river, according to RCMP.

67 year old Valerie Morris of Sechelt is missing after a mudslide on Highway 99 Saturday swept her classic 1968 Morgan off the highway.

Sgt. Janelle Shoihet of RCMP E-Division Communications says Morris’ husband Tom was outside the car, dealing with the roof on the convertible when the slide hit.

“In speaking to our friends in Ashcroft, they said that it seemed that the rain came out of nowhere. When the driver got out to deal with the convertible, conditions were difficult to see. He got out to fix the rooftop and at that point the water started running,” said Shoihet.

Six days after the slide, what was initially a rescue mission is transitioning to a recovery, according to Shoihet.

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“The water levels have gone down significantly. We’ve been able to use our dog service to get in there and do some ground searching. I think there was a mudslide followed by another mudslide which may be impacting some of the search efforts. To date, they have not been successful,” said Shoihet.

“The search efforts are going to continue throughout the rest of this week and through the weekend. Perhaps at the end of day on Sunday, we will determine what the next best efforts will be.”

The Morris’ vehicle has been located this week in the river below the highway, but Shoihet says it has not been recovered because of its precarious location.

It’s not believed Valerie Morris is still inside the vehicle.

“We have to figure out whether or not there is any debris underneath the actual mudslide on the side, or if perhaps [she has] been carried down into that riverbed and then carried down into the river,” said Shoihet.

Traffic is flowing normally through the slide site.

It had been closed off for several days due to the investigation and clean-up.