The little sister of Meredith Sambu, 25, who fell into the Squamish River on Mother’s Day, hasn’t given up hope her brother can be found.
Kettie Sambu says her family is asking that folks who recreate in the area keep an eye out for her brother.
Squamish RCMP has said they are keeping up a daily search for the man.
Since first hearing the news of her brother’s accident, it has been a “never-ending nightmare” for the family, Kettie said, adding that the Squamish RCMP has been fantastic and supportive.
Sambu, a recent graduate of UBC, was camping with some friends up the Ashlu Forest Service Road, at about the 200-marker, when at about 1 a.m. he fell backward two or three metres into the rushing river.
Some wood had been stacked beside the campfire, and Sambu tripped over it, his sister said.
Kettie had spoken to her brother just before he left for Squamish from his home in Vancouver.
“He was in such a great mood,” she recalled. “He said, ‘I am going camping with my friends, I am excited.’ I said, ‘Oh, good. Take care.... Have fun.’”
The siblings said they loved each other and hung up.
She woke up to social media messages that something terrible had happened on the trip.
While her brother hadn’t done a lot of camping before, he hikes often, she said.
Sambu, an electrical engineer, had recently landed his first job since university.
The family is originally from Kenya, but the siblings had also lived in India and attended high school in the Netherlands, where Kettie still lives.
Sambu has been living in Vancouver for seven years.
The family is small but tightknit, Kettie said, her voice shaking with emotion.
“My mom is a single mom. We are a really small family, so when things like this happen, it really affects us. We grew up — just the three of us.”
Her big brother is smart, athletic and great with children, she said, adding he is quite religious as well.
“He was captain of the football team, he was a great student, “ she said, adding that he is always great with his little cousins and kids in the neighbourhood.
“We’d come home, and he would have a whole school class of children playing video games on the TV,“ Kettie said.
More recently, Sambu has been an ear for his little sister and has even offered dating advice, Kettie said, with a soft chuckle.
“He can just talk to me and calm me down,” she said.
Her mother and uncle have been in Squamish meeting with first responders and searchers, Kettie said.
She said some people have been insensitive in sending condolence messages to the family, but they haven’t given up hope.
“We are realistic — bad things can happen. But we are also very hopeful because we just don’t know where he is,” she said. “We want people to get it, that as far as we are concerned, he is just missing still and we want people to keep a lookout.”
