The sombre two-year anniversary of the death of a Vancouver Island couple was recognized Thursday with still no answers as to what exactly happened.
On Aug. 10, 2021, Cameron Murdoch, 42, was with his wife Andrea Murdoch, 51, on a guided fishing trip on the Bella Coola River celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary when something went awry. They had departed at 8 a.m. on what was to be a four-hour trip, ending at noon.
Just after 11:30 a.m., Bella Coola RCMP were called about a partially capsized boat adrift and headed downstream on the Bella Coola River near Walker Island Park.
Cameron Murdoch’s body was discovered that same evening and on March 3, 2022 the B.C. Coroner’s Service identified Keith Epp, whose body was found Feb. 27, at the estuary in Bella Coola, as one of three people missing since the boating incident.
Andrea Murdoch’s body has never been found.
Cameron Murdoch grew up in Victoria. Andrea Murdoch (nee Newsted) grew up in Qualicum Beach. They both worked in the solar technology industry.
According to family, the couple travelled to Bella Coola, on B.C.’s central coast, and hired a boat and a guide. They wanted to see the Great Bear Rainforest, and Cameron, an avid photographer, had just bought a new camera with the hopes of bringing home stunning memories.
Linda Murdoch in a phone interview Thursday said the loss of her son and daughter-in-law remains hard to bear.
The family have yet to decide what to do with Cameron’s ashes while Andrea remains missing. Beyond both families missing their loved ones, they have had to accept they might never know what happened that day “and that’s what’s hard,” said Linda.
In a memorial, the family said “we still churn with sorrow at their loss but take some consolation in knowing that Cameron and Andrea died together while on the adventure of a lifetime.”
“They lived a wonderful life,” said Linda Murdoch.
Bella Coola RCMP in a statement on Thursday said an unknown occurrence took place that caused all of the vessel’s occupants to be removed from the vessel and the vessel capsized.
“No safety equipment was worn by any of the occupants in the vessel,” said the RCMP in a statement.
River conditions on the Bella Coola River can be unforgiving and include log jams, debris and standing waves.
“There were no survivors or witnesses to the occurrence and as such, any contributing factors cannot be determined,” the statement reads.
The Transportation Safety Board didn’t investigate as it was determined it was not a reportable incident under the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board Act.
A memorial fund was set up at Camosun College to give an annual bursary to a student in memory of Cameron and Andrea Murdoch.
