RCMP Superintendent Sean Auld provides an update on the search for the missing youth.

The search for the fourth person who went missing during the floods has been put on hold.

The RCMP announced today that due to dangerous conditions the search will be paused for the next few days while they wait for the remaining water in the secondary and tertiary zones to drain. RCMP public relations officer Cpl. Chris Marshall described the terrain that search and rescuers are having to battle with as they work tirelessly to find the missing teenager.

“The way the pockets are in some areas, you could have a couple inches of water and the very next step you’re going to take is eight feet straight down,” said Marshall.

He added that the water is too murky to see anything beyond the immediate surface. 85 percent of the water from the secondary search zone and 100 percent of the water from the primary search zone has been drained by high-powered pumps that have been operating since the early days of the search.

The bodies of three people have already been found. A 52-year-old man and two six-year-old children.

Abraham Zebian, mayor of West Hants Regional Municipality, joined all Nova Scotians in mourning the tragic loss of life.

“It’s a hard day here in West Hants. We have a gap in our family now and they’ll never be forgotten, always remembered, and always loved.,” said Zebian.

The search will continue as soon as it is safe to do so.