The B.C. Coroners Service has confirmed the identity of a man who died while swimming at Gabriola Island Sunday as Werner Karl Bachmann, 86, from Gabriola Island.
Bachmann went swimming in the ocean at about 2 p.m. at Twin Beaches in Gabriola Sands Provincial Park, located on the northwest tip of Gabriola Island, according to a press release from the coroners service.
About 50 minutes later, onlookers saw Bachmann was in distress in the water, and pulled him to shore, but he could not be resuscitated.
Bachmann's family has been notified and the B.C. Coroners Service is continuing its investigation into his death.