A massive mudslide that tore across Highway 99 near Lillooet, British Columbia, has left three men dead and a fourth person still missing after days of difficult search operations. The slide struck following an intense stretch of rainfall that triggered flooding and landslides across southern B.C., closing a key stretch of the Duffey Lake Road corridor and cutting off travel through the region.
Search teams recovered the three men’s bodies over several days of painstaking work in unstable ground. B.C. RCMP Staff Sgt. Janelle Shoihet said investigators and rescue crews faced “difficult weather and hazardous terrain” that repeatedly slowed operations and raised the risk of further slides. Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe said crews kept looking for the remaining missing person through Friday before authorities ended the active search, concluding that every available option had been exhausted.
The identities of the three men have not been released. Officials said formal identification and notification of next of kin must be completed first. A woman’s body had already been recovered from another part of the disaster zone, bringing the confirmed death toll linked to the event to four.
Highway 99 remains closed while crews assess the site. There is no firm date for reopening. The route is a vital link between communities, and the closure has disrupted travel and supply movements. The B.C. Coroners Service continues its investigation into the circumstances of the deaths and whether more can be done to reduce similar risks in steep, rain-soaked terrain.
The operation underscored the dangers facing emergency responders. Conditions can shift quickly, debris fields are unstable, and additional slides remain possible. Families of the victims are waiting for official confirmation as authorities work through identification and the remaining unanswered questions about the missing person.
