It’s been a difficult two years for Charlene Mitten. The West Vancouver mother is still trying to come to terms with the loss of her son, who she says drowned at English Bay two years ago.
She says Darrel, 40, was at the beach playing volleyball with friends on a sunny, busy day at the beach when things took a turn.
Mitten says an autopsy report showed he had both alcohol and cocaine in his system when he went into the water to cool off.
“He chose to go into the ocean, but none of his friends took note, perhaps, keeping an eye out on him… maybe we should keep a closer eye on him, but that didn’t happen,” Mitten told 1130 NewsRadio through tears.
She says eventually his body surfaced, he was pulled to shore, and 911 was called, but it was too late, and he was taken off life support at St. Paul’s Hospital shortly after.
Mitten doesn’t directly blame anyone for what happened to her son but admits she is upset.
“Do I have a bit of resentment that they didn’t keep an eye out for him when they knew he wasn’t quite himself? Yeah, I do have a bit of resentment there, but you can’t blame anyone for anyone else’s actions, but I wish some of his friends had kept more of an eye on him.”
Mitten says with the hot weather here, it’s so important for loved ones and even strangers to keep tabs on people, because things can change in an instant.
“Perhaps the beachgoers who saw him go into the ocean, I wish they would have run for the lifeguards right away.”
She supports an increase in lifeguards at local beaches. This is a push that comes just over a month after the Vancouver Park Board (VPB) reversed its decision to eliminate lifeguards at four popular hot spots: Sunset and Third beaches, and Spanish Banks East and West.
“Friends watch out for friends. Beachgoers watch out for beachgoers, because it can happen to anyone else.”
“We live in a place in West Van where I can look out at the ocean, and it’s like I don’t see the ocean anymore; I just see him.”
She adds it’s not on lifeguards to track everyone’s whereabouts.
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“They can’t possibly keep their eye on everyone going into the ocean from one end of English Bay to the other. And in Darrel’s case, even though none of his friends saw him go into the ocean or kept an eye on him, some of the beachgoers did see that he wasn’t quite stable, and they did see him go into the ocean in that condition. And I would have hoped at that point, if it was me, that I would have run to the lifeguard and said, ‘Hey, this guy has just gone into the ocean, and he doesn’t look quite stable, maybe you should come and keep an eye on him,’ but that wasn’t done.”
Mitten says she now takes things day by day.
“You don’t forget. Every time I hear about English Bay or drive by or see anything on the news about English Bay, it’s the first thing that comes to your mind. And we live in a place in West Van where I can look out at the ocean, and it’s like I don’t see the ocean anymore; I just see him.”
Recently, the BC Coroners’ Service warned people to take caution as more people start participating in summer activities.
It says there was a spike in drownings and motorcycle-related deaths last month, with five motorcyclists killed in May 2025 and 14 reported this past May.
“One of the benefits of living in such a beautiful province is that we have many different opportunities to explore the outdoors year-round,” said Dr. Jatinder Baidwan, chief coroner, BC Coroners Service.
“However, every summer, we see several fatalities that are mostly preventable, and as the weather warms up, we’d like to encourage everyone to take their personal safety and the safety of their loved ones seriously when planning outdoor adventures.”
Meantime, drownings linked to recreational activities also went up. The service added hiking and climbing deaths in B.C. are highest from May to September, with the annual peak in July.