BC Coroners Service announces new dates for Sweatman inquest
By Nelson Daily Staff
The BC Coroners Service announced Monday new dates for the inquest into the death of Sheilah Lorraine Sweatman.
The dates are Nov. 19-23 at the Nelson courthouse.
The inquest was originally scheduled to begin on Monday, June 4 but was postponed to ensure availability of all required witnesses, including counsel for parties with standing.
The November dates are the earliest available in which courtroom space is available and all participants foresee they can attend.
Sweatman, 29, died while performing a recovery operation with the Swift Water Rescue division within the Nelson Search and Rescue unit, June 29, 2011, on the Goat River near Creston.
The Nelson Search and Rescue unit was called to carry out an examination of the vehicle to determine if there were any occupants in the submerged vehicle.
The vehicle, thought to that of a missing woman was located submerged in the Goat River just off Highway 21, south of Creston.
At about 4:15 p.m. during the course of their search efforts, utilizing swift water line equipment and a swift watercraft, Sweatman went overboard into the river and did not surface.
Efforts to locate and rescue Sweatman were not successful.
The death of Sheilah Sweatman marked the first time in B.C. SAR history that one of the province’s volunteers was killed while in service.
On July 23, 2011, in Nelson more than 1,000 SARS, police and fire department members from throughout the province and northern United States attended a memorial show support for Sweatman.
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