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Coroner confirms identity of body recovered from Columbia River

The body of Andrew Evans was discovered in the Columbia River last Thursday, the BC Coroners Service confirmed.

The body of Andrew Evans was discovered in the Columbia River last Thursday, the BC Coroners Service confirmed.

He was listed as missing but presumed drowned until his body was located in the river by boaters near the Waneta Dam expansion project.

The 28-year-old Fruitvale resident entered the river July 10 to avoid the Kootenay Boundary Regional Detachment Crime Reduction Unit and members from the Trail and Greater District RCMP, who attended a home in Glenmerry to arrest Evans for several unendorsed arrest warrants.

From the shoreline, officers watched as Evans swam back toward the shore, where he remained in the water holding onto a tree branch while he spoke to officers at the river's edge.

The fire rescue boat was immediately dispatched but it was too late as Evans eventually let go of the branch and floated downstream until he reached a set of rapids where he disappeared from sight.

The BC Coroners Service and the RCMP continue to investigate his death.