McGregor Lake drowning: Victim Kamber Lindenbach and Wayne Stertz, still missing, were to marry
Victim's father: "It's pretty hard right now ... they definitely were a very happy couple"
By Michael Platt, Calgary Sun First posted: Tuesday, August 04, 2015 01:29 PM EDT | Updated: Tuesday, August 04, 2015 03:23 PM EDT
CALGARY - Kamber Lindenbach was on top of the world, having fought every inch of the way to get there.
The Calgary fitness trainer was only days away from marrying the love of her life, having spent years battling back from injuries sustained in a serious car crash, as well as the recent loss of her brother — and on August 13, she and Wayne Stertz were going to exchange vows, with the support and blessing of family and friends.
Instead, those same loved ones are left mourning the affianced young pair, after a weekend drowning tragedy claimed both their lives.
“It’s pretty hard right now — they definitely were a very happy couple together,” said Kamber’s father Nick Kohalyk, speaking from his home in Golden, B.C.
RCMP were called to McGregor Lake near Vulcan on Sunday, after reports of a boat drifting aimlessly on the water, which witnesses say was occupied by a man and woman earlier in the day.
When officers arrived, they found a speedboat occupied only by dogs, as well as another dog swimming around the abandoned watercraft.
“We think maybe Kamber fell overboard and Wayne went after her, and then one of the dogs jumped in after him,” said Bernice Stertz, Wayne’s grandma.
“The dog was just crying out in the water when they found it.”
A search of the popular tourist lake by other users turned the mystery into a tragedy, when the body of a woman in her early 30s was found on a beach along the shoreline — a drowning victim later identified by family as Lindenbach, a popular fitness trainer who’d moved to Calgary from Golden, B.C.
Word of her death immediately turned her fitness page into a shrine of praise for a woman described as endlessly positive and supportive.
“RIP Kamber Lindenbach. You made us all see the beauty within ourselves no matter our limitations and you believed in everyone you met. There was never a moment where you gave up on anyone, including yourself. May you fly with the angels beautiful one,” wrote Tanya Mak on the Facebook site called Kamber’s Fitness Girlz.
On Monday, after extensively scouring the lake for signs of 37-year-old Stertz, police called off the search, saying the believe the Calgarian was also aboard the boat when it set out — and with no signs Lindenbach had been wearing a life-jacket, it’s presumed he wasn’t either.
Stertz’s grandma, who helped raise the future oil-drilling operations manager as a boy growing up in Slave Lake, Alberta, says her grandson was glowing over his bride and upcoming wedding, set for next week.
“He was so happy, and they were about to get married,” said Bernice.
They’d apparently planned to elope to the top of a mountain, with just a minister and photographer present, before hiking back down as a married couple for a party with their friends.
Described as perfect romance, those who knew them said it was a relationship that left both a little giddy.
Just last year, Lindenbach told Facebook she planned to make 2014 her best year ever, and her subsequent posts were consistently uplifting and postive.
“They were just happy-go-lucky together,” said Bernice.
Stertz’s grandma was the first family member to find out about the tragic double-drowing, after an RCMP officer came to her door to break the terrible news, and she was left to inform Stertz’s mom and sister in Calgary.
“I had to notify the whole family,” said Bernice. “They’re in shock.”
She says little has been offered to explain why both Stertz and Lindenbach drowned on a lake that was reportedly choppy on Sunday and not a likely lure for swimming.
So far, they’re sticking with the guess that one went into to save the other, and the dog leapt in after its master.
“It’s just so hard to believe Wayne would drown, he was such a strong swimmer,” said Bernice.
michael.platt@sunmedia.ca
Kamber Lindenbach and Wayne Stertz of Calgary went missing after setting out on a speedboat on McGregor Lake near Vulcan, Alta. on Sunday. They were to marry this month. (Facebook photo)
McGregor Lake drowning: Victim Kamber Lindenbach and Wayne Stertz, still missing
Victim's father: "It's pretty hard right now ... they definitely were a very happy couple"
By Michael Platt, Calgary Sun First posted: Tuesday, August 04, 2015 01:29 PM EDT | Updated: Tuesday, August 04, 2015 03:23 PM EDT
CALGARY - Kamber Lindenbach was on top of the world, having fought every inch of the way to get there.
The Calgary fitness trainer was only days away from marrying the love of her life, having spent years battling back from injuries sustained in a serious car crash, as well as the recent loss of her brother — and on August 13, she and Wayne Stertz were going to exchange vows, with the support and blessing of family and friends.
Instead, those same loved ones are left mourning the affianced young pair, after a weekend drowning tragedy claimed both their lives.
“It’s pretty hard right now — they definitely were a very happy couple together,” said Kamber’s father Nick Kohalyk, speaking from his home in Golden, B.C.
RCMP were called to McGregor Lake near Vulcan on Sunday, after reports of a boat drifting aimlessly on the water, which witnesses say was occupied by a man and woman earlier in the day.
When officers arrived, they found a speedboat occupied only by dogs, as well as another dog swimming around the abandoned watercraft.
“We think maybe Kamber fell overboard and Wayne went after her, and then one of the dogs jumped in after him,” said Bernice Stertz, Wayne’s grandma.
“The dog was just crying out in the water when they found it.”
A search of the popular tourist lake by other users turned the mystery into a tragedy, when the body of a woman in her early 30s was found on a beach along the shoreline — a drowning victim later identified by family as Lindenbach, a popular fitness trainer who’d moved to Calgary from Golden, B.C.
Word of her death immediately turned her fitness page into a shrine of praise for a woman described as endlessly positive and supportive.
“RIP Kamber Lindenbach. You made us all see the beauty within ourselves no matter our limitations and you believed in everyone you met. There was never a moment where you gave up on anyone, including yourself. May you fly with the angels beautiful one,” wrote Tanya Mak on the Facebook site called Kamber’s Fitness Girlz.
On Monday, after extensively scouring the lake for signs of 37-year-old Stertz, police called off the search, saying the believe the Calgarian was also aboard the boat when it set out — and with no signs Lindenbach had been wearing a life-jacket, it’s presumed he wasn’t either.
Stertz’s grandma, who helped raise the future oil-drilling operations manager as a boy growing up in Slave Lake, Alberta, says her grandson was glowing over his bride and upcoming wedding, set for next week.
“He was so happy, and they were about to get married,” said Bernice.
They’d apparently planned to elope to the top of a mountain, with just a minister and photographer present, before hiking back down as a married couple for a party with their friends.
Described as perfect romance, those who knew them said it was a relationship that left both a little giddy.
Just last year, Lindenbach told Facebook she planned to make 2014 her best year ever, and her subsequent posts were consistently uplifting and postive.
“They were just happy-go-lucky together,” said Bernice.
Stertz’s grandma was the first family member to find out about the tragic double-drowing, after an RCMP officer came to her door to break the terrible news, and she was left to inform Stertz’s mom and sister in Calgary.
“I had to notify the whole family,” said Bernice. “They’re in shock.”
She says little has been offered to explain why both Stertz and Lindenbach drowned on a lake that was reportedly choppy on Sunday and not a likely lure for swimming.
So far, they’re sticking with the guess that one went into to save the other, and the dog leapt in after its master.
“It’s just so hard to believe Wayne would drown, he was such a strong swimmer,” said Bernice.
michael.platt@sunmedia.ca
Kamber Lindenbach and Wayne Stertz of Calgary went missing after setting out on a speedboat on McGregor Lake near Vulcan, Alta. on Sunday. They were to marry this month. (Facebook photo)
McGregor Lake drowning: Victim Kamber Lindenbach and Wayne Stertz, still missing
