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Sight-seers fall to their deaths

Two die in separate incidents at scenic lookouts

Two people are dead after slipping off the road shoulder at scenic sites on the Sea to Sky Highway.

The first incident happened on July 28, when a 61-year-old man from Washington state fell approximately 10 metres down a steep embankment on a pullout near Loggers Creek, approximately 5 km north of Lions Bay. The Squamish RCMP received the call at approximately 10:35 a.m. and Lions Bay Fire Department and Ambulance service attended the scene, where the man was pronounced dead.

The second incident occurred at approximately 8 p.m. on Aug. 1 in the Cheakamus Canyon, approximately 26 km north of Squamish. A 33-year-old woman parked on the side of the highway, exited her vehicle and stepped over the cement barrier where she lost her footing and fell approximately 91 metres (almost 300 feet) to the bottom.

Search and Rescue and the Ambulance service attended, and the woman was pronounced dead at the scene. According to the report, she was not stopped at a designated pull-out area.

The RCMP have since requested that people only stop at designated pullout areas, and to follow the posted directions on signs. Do not climb over fences or barriers to obtain better views, as these are hazardous areas.

According to Jeff Knight, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Transportation, the provincial government will be conducting its own investigation into the incidents.

"The Ministry will be co-operating fully with the RCMP and coroners service investigation of these deaths, and the Ministry will be conducting its own investigation as well," he said. "At this point we don’t even know what happened… but the Ministry will be looking at all aspects, the barriers we have there, railings, signage, all those sorts of things."

Body found in Cheakamus River identified

The RCMP are still investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of Simin Falahti, a 32-year-old woman from Coquitlam whose body was discovered in the Cheakamus River on July 27.

According to the RCMP the body was discovered floating in the river approximately 27 km north of Squamish.

The incident is being called a suspicious death with members of the Integrated Homicide Unit are assisting with the investigation.

The RCMP are asking anyone who might have been in the Cheakamus River Canyon on the afternoon or evening of July 27 to contact the Squamish RCMP detachment at 604-892-6100.