A claim that a woman was trapped inside a submerged vehicle forced a North Cowichan-Duncan RCMP officer to dive into the frigid waters of Cowichan Bay on Tuesday evening to attempt a rescue.
A pickup truck went down the Hecate Park boat launch ramp into the bay at around 7:30 pm that night.
The driver got out, and then told officers responding to the call that his girlfriend was still inside the submerged vehicle.
One RCMP officer went into the water and swam down to the vehicle to find her.
The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre was contacted and dispatched rescue vessels from the Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue, as well as the Canadian Coast Guard.
The truck turned out to be empty and police later located the driver’s girlfriend safe at her home in the Victoria area.
The RCMP is considering charges of impaired driving against the man and is asking for witnesses to contact them at 250-748-5522.
