2 teens missing and presumed drowned after car tumbles into river in the West Kootenay

A RCMP dive team is searching a West Kootenay river for the bodies of two teenagers who are believed to have drowned on the weekend.

The missing pair, a15-year-old and an 18-year-old, both from Fruitvale, were passengers in a Volkswagen Beetle that didn't make a curve Sunday afternoon on the twisting and turning Seven Mile Dam Road along the Pendd'Oreille River, said West Kootenay Traffic Services Sgt. Chad Badry.

"We've got the underwater recovery team there now assessing whether or not we will be able to find the vehicle and hopefully be able to recover the vehicle and the occupants," added Badry.

The vehicle's18-year-old driverfrom Salmo,and another 15-year-old passengerfrom Warfieldwere able to free themselves after the vehicle went off the road and plunged down the embankment into the Pendd'Oreille, between Trail and the U.S. border.

The Pendd'Oreille is dammed up and is as much a reservoir as it is a river. The water is deep and cold this time of yearwith ice on its edges.

Badry said the families have been notified of the tragedy and are being kept apprised of the effort to raise the vehicle.