Man missing, woman and baby rescued after vessel found abandoned near Victoria

A man is feared dead after a boating accident near downtown Victoria.

Two people were rescued and one man is still missing after authorities were called to the Saanich Inlet near Victoria on Tuesday, where witnesses reported a motorboat was travelling in circles with nobody on board.

The missing man has been identified as 43-year-old Ryan Mazar, who police say was one of three people thrown overboard from the six-metre recreational vessel.

The other two occupants, a mother and an infant, were found on the shoreline and taken to hospital for treatment, police said in a statement Wednesday.

Multiple search-and-rescue aircraft and coast guard vessels were dispatched to the scene at approximately 6 p.m. Tuesday, according to a spokesperson for the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Victoria.

The coast guard vessels remained on scene overnight while the aircraft returned to Canadian Forces Base Comox and were redeployed to continue the search Wednesday morning.

“The public can expect a large presence of search and rescue officials in the area, including aircraft patrols,” the West Shore RCMP said in the statement.

Mazar is described as a white man standing between 6’2” and 6’5” tall and weighing approximately 230 pounds.

Police say the missing man has short, grey hair styled in a mohawk, and has a large tattoo of a nautical design on his left arm, as well as a tattoo in the shape of Vancouver Island on his right arm.

A military Kingfisher search-and-rescue plane was among the aircraft circling over the search area Wednesday. The new airframe is not expected to reach its initial operating capability with the Royal Canadian Air Force until 2026.

A Department of National Defence spokesperson on Wednesday said they would confirm whether that timeline would be adjusted or affirmed in light of the aircraft’s recent deployment from Comox.

Read more: Canadian military pulls rescue planes from B.C. amid new aircraft delays