At least three homes are thought to have been engulfed in Thursday's landslide in Johnsons Landing, B.C., which authorities believe trapped four people. (Bob Keating/CBC)

 

The body of one of four people believed to have been trapped under a landslide in southeastern British Columbia has been found, authorities said Sunday evening as they announced the rescue mission is now a recovery effort.

The B.C. Coroners Service is taking over the operation following the "reluctant" decision that "there was no longer any hope that anyone who had been caught in the slide could be found alive," the service said in a statement.

Three people remain unaccounted for.

RCMP said the body found Sunday appears to be that of a man.

A view from across Kootenay Lake shows the slide into the community of Johnsons Landing. (Submitted by David Alves)

Valentine Webber, 60; his two daughters Diana Webber, 22, and Rachel Webber, 17; and Petra Frehse, 64, have been missing since the landslide hit Thursday in Johnsons Landing, B.C.

Frehse is a German retiree who would spend part of her year living in a home next door to the Webbers. At least three houses were engulfed when the wall of mud, rock and trees cascaded down a hillside Thursday morning.

The Webbers were about to sit down to breakfast moments before the slide hit, Lynn Migdal, the women's mother and Valentine Webber's ex-wife, told CBC News last week.

For days since the slide, dozens of rescuers searched the slippery terrain under a relentless downpour. With the discovery of an adult male body in the rubble late Sunday, the RCMP handed the operation over to the B.C. Coroner's Service.

Believed to be Valentine Webber

The body, believed to be that of Valentine Webber, was found near the foundations of a home that was swept away in the slide.

RCMP Const. Dan Moskaluk said they have informed the family of the deceased that the body was recovered.

"Our condolences to the Webber family for their loss, and again we offer our support and condolences to the family of Petra Frehse," the RCMP said.

Rescue teams were being called away from the site as the recovery effort proceeded.

B.C. Premier Christy Clark sent her condolences to the family and friends of the victims in a statement.

"At times like these, it is difficult to give up hoping for a miracle," Clark said. "Communities and governments have provided every possible response to this disaster, and nature has conspired against us in many ways."

The province's chief coroner, Lisa Lapointe, arrived on site Sunday and will have to decide whether to declare the missing victims legally dead if recovery efforts are unable to find their bodies.

"Searches for the remaining missing people are underway," she said, calling it a "very, very difficult time" for the victims' loved ones.

The frantic search for the Webbers and Frehse began shortly after 11 a.m. PT Thursday in the tiny community 70 kilometres northeast of Nelson and 450 kilometres east of Vancouver. But the search had to be suspended for the first half of the day on Friday because of further landslides in the area.

The rescue mission involved helicopters, geotechnicians, canine units, divers and industrial crews at various times.