Last Monday, as floods and landslides ravaged British Columbia, Dean Hopkins received a distressed call from his close friend’s wife, saying her husband was missing.
That phone call began several stressful days for Hopkins, which ended in tragedy when the death of his former rugby teammate Steven Taylor was confirmed.
Taylor moved to BC from Calgary about a year ago for construction work, and when his wife lost contact with him while driving through one of the landslide-hit areas last weekend, she needed help, Hopkins said.
Hopkins sprang into action to find his missing friend.
“In times of crisis, the information does not reach much. And when you have a woman who misses her husband, it is quite traumatic if you do not have family support,” she said Sunday.
Hopkins said Taylor had been to a labor camp north of Vancouver, but the camp closed due to bad weather. He decided to return home despite the bad roads and called his wife to let her know.
Then there was no more word.
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Hopkins began calling Taylor’s colleagues and listened carefully to eyewitness accounts of a landslide that had affected south Lillooet. He called the hotels in case they had seen Taylor. Taylor’s wife filed a missing person report.
“His cell phone, every time I call him, is always answered,” Hopkins said. But no one was getting it this time.
Days passed and they had hope, he said. But then RCMP phoned Taylor’s wife Wednesday night, saying they had found three bodies and that one of them matched the description he had given them. He immediately broke the news to Hopkins.
BC #mudslide victim identified as Calgary native rugby player. #Floods #BC
Mounties said Saturday that the bodies of three men were recovered from a landslide area on Highway 99 between Lillooet and Pemberton, along a section of the route known as Duffey Lake Road. They said the bodies were discovered over the course of the past week and the death toll from that landslide increased to four.
The body of a woman was recovered by crews not far away last Monday.
Hopkins, who is a former military man, said he had previously experienced the loss of men he considered brothers. But it’s still not easy, and he said hearing the news of Taylor’s death left him “heartbroken” and nauseous.
“There will be hundreds, if not thousands, of friends and rugby players across our city and province who will feel exactly the same. That was the kind of man he was,” Hopkins said, noting that Taylor’s wife was devastated.
“There is a difference between losing someone and having someone ripped out of your life in no time. She is absolutely inconsolable.”
Hopkins said he will be heading to Vancouver to help out soon. In addition to a wife, he said Taylor leaves behind two daughters, two sons and a grandson.
The BC Coroners Service issued a statement over the weekend saying it would investigate the deaths and make recommendations, when possible, to prevent similar situations in the future.
This Canadian Press report was first published on November 22, 2021.
– By Rob Drinkwater in Edmonton
Reference-www.nationalobserver.com