Calgary hiker lost in river north of Lake Louise described as caring, generous
Gagandeep Singh Khalsa loved his community and volunteering, a friend says
A Calgary man who was living his best life after moving from India four years ago has still not been found after falling into a fast-moving river north of Lake Louise on Saturday.
Gagandeep Singh Khalsa and two friends were Jasper-bound when the trio stopped for a hike near Glacier Lake.
Khalsa climbed down onto some rocks so his friends could snap a photo of the young man in front of the frigid North Saskatchewan River.
Those friends turned away for a moment and when they looked again, Khalsa was gone.
His friends, while still clinging to the hope he will be found, are devastated.
"He was very lovely, very nice. A caring, generous person. He was involved in the community and volunteering," another friend, Parmeet Singh Boparai, told CBC News Monday.
"He was a nature lover."
Boparai said Khalsa, in his early 20s, was an only child who moved from Punjab, India, four years ago.
He went to Bow Valley College in the medical office assistant program and had been working for about two years.
Boparai said Khalsa's friends tried to save him, but the water was moving too quickly and there was no cell phone service.
The search continued Monday with Parks Canada assisting Lake Louise RCMP.
With files from Colleen Underwood