A Coast Guard hovercraft searched the area where a man was pulled from the Fraser River along the Haney Bypass, at 225 Street, in Maple Ridge early Tuesday morning.
The man, who was found not far from shore around 3:15 a.m. by police and fire crews, succumbed to his injuries shortly after being taken to hospital.
“He was alive when police took him out of the water,” Ridge Meadows RCMP said. “They did perform first aid and CPR on him.”
But police would not say how they were alerted to the man’s whereabout.
The man was found in a sandy area not far from a three-storey residential building with a direct view of the Fraser River.
RCMP’s serious crimes unit is involved in the investigation, but “there’s no indication he met with foul play,” police said.
Police received information that the man was on a jet ski or on some kind of watercraft, but no vessel has yet been recovered.
It was not known whether investigators had positively identified the man, or if next of kin have been notified.
If anyone has information about the incident, they can call Ridge Meadows RCMP at 604-463-6251.