Body of Irish Gaelic footballer missing nearly a year found near B.C. lake

The body of a 26-year-old Irish man who jumped off a bridge into a creek north of Revelstoke, B.C., and never resurfaced has been recovered, according to Irish news reports and his former Gaelic football club.

David Gavin of Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland, had been in Canada for just a few months before he divedfrom a bridge and disappeared near a reservoir on the Columbia River, on June 30, 2017.

He was on his way from Calgary toVancouver for a Gaelic football championship when he and three other members of the team stopped at Kinbasket Lake Resort 166 kilometres north of Revelstoke and decided to take a swim.

Gavin jumped from the bridge over Beaver Creek but failed to resurface.

At the time, his Vancouver men's Gaelic football team members said they were "heartbroken" by the loss of the small-town Irish athlete, who was popular with teammates.

On Saturday night, the body of the young man was reported found by a Canadiansearch team.

The RCMP search had been called off lastJuly, and his family had travelled from Irelandin the hope of finding their beloved son.

On Twitter, Gavin's Gaelic football club, BreaffyGAA, posted about the discovery of his body.

"It is [with]great relief and a lot of sadness that David Gavin's remains have been recovered," the post said.

Reduced water levels in the lake allowed divers to resume the search.

Gavin had been working as a business analyst for Telus after moving to Canada with his long-time girlfriend.

"He was a superb player for us, but he was just a really nice guy as a person. He was very warm, he was very friendly extremely popular," former teammate Tadhg Egantold CBC after he had disappeared.

On Sunday, Eganwrote to CBC,adding:"It was just an unfortunate accident, a bad decision ultimately. He was a very strong swimmer, a qualified lifeguard. But jumping into unknown waters is something everyone needs to be wary of."