Man presumed dead, woman in hospital after incident on Nanaimo sailboat

A 58-year-old woman is in hospital and a 59-year-old man is missing and presumed drowned after witnesses called police about an argument on a sailboat near Nanaimo, B.C.

Mounties were called at approximately 8:40 p.m. Monday after the couple were heard arguing aboard the vessel anchored between Newcastle Island and Protection Island, east of downtown Nanaimo.

A Comorant rescue helicopter and a coast guard hovercraft were dispatched by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Victoria after a vessel operator reported a person yelling for help from the water.

Mounties responded aboard a Nanaimo Port Authority vessel and found the woman adrift in the harbour clutching a rope near the boat.

"She was getting ready to go under," said Nanaimo RCMP Const. Gary O'Brien, adding the woman appeared to be suffering from hypothermia and severe intoxication.

The woman, who lived on the sailboat with the man, was "clinging to life" when she was rushed to hospital, O'Brien said. Her condition was upgraded to stable on Tuesday but she is expected to remain in hospital for at least the rest of the day, according to police.

The 59-year-old man is still missing after an exhaustive search of the water and shoreline, including unsuccessful attempts to ping his cellphone.

Five members of the local Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue station assisted in the overnight search for approximately three and a half hours, according to the volunteer group.

Police are still looking for the man but are "sadly working on the presumption that he may have drowned," O'Brien said.

Police have not launched a criminal investigation into the matter.

Rescue vessels and an RCMP dive team remained on the water Tuesday.

"We don't know how they ended up in the water," O'Brien said. "Obviously she was highly intoxicated at the time so she's having a difficult time recalling what happened." 

Police say the man was wearing a blue and black shirt, blue jeans, and either runners or flip-flops when he went overboard.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Nanaimo RCMP at 250-754-2345.    

With files from Anna McMillan