This Is Guernsey

By Juliet Pouteaux

A SEARCH will resume today for a Guernsey brother and sister who are missing, presumed dead after their car was swept away in floods in Cornwall.

Former Les Beaucamps School pupil Ryan Martel, 26, and his sister, 17-year-old Frankie Chappel, were travelling in the back of a green Volvo saloon early on Saturday.

Mr Martel was described by friend James Harrison as a talented film-maker with a particular passion for 3D films.

It is not clear how the car ended up in a river swollen by torrential rain, but it is believed that either the narrow road on the B3306 had collapsed near the village of Zennor, between St Just and St Ives, or the weight of the car had made it do so.

There were two other people in the car. Front seat passenger Oliver Gardner, 20, escaped and raised the alarm.

The vehicle was found submerged 100 yards downstream from where it entered the water.

The body of a 20-year-old man, identified as the driver, Luke Mackin, was found further downstream.

Late yesterday afternoon, search teams found a body buried beneath silt on the beach at Porthglaze cove. The identity has not been revealed.

Devon and Cornwall Police have 20 police officers involved in the search. They have been using thermal imaging equipment and dogs.

A Royal Navy helicopter from RNAS Culdrose also helped in trying to locate the missing siblings.

The family of the pair have been kept informed by police.

‘The family wish to extend their thanks to all emergency services who have been, and still are involved in the search for Ryan and Frankie,’ said a Devon and Cornwall Police spokesmanon.

‘Also to members of the public and householders nearby who have helped. They say that their thoughts are with the other family affected by this tragedy.’

Steve Gardner, the father of the survivor, said the incident was a terrible tragedy.

‘It is a very distressing time for everybody. There are still emergency services everywhere and, of course, people are very worried.’

The car the group had been travelling in was registered to Unicar Falmouth University taxi service, of which Mr Martel is the proprietor. Police have confirmed that at the time of the incident the taxi was off-duty.

The search is continuing today.

BOX

Timetable of events

Saturday, 1.30am – The off-duty taxi carrying four people gets swept away by floodwater. One person manages to escape.

1.41am – A man called the ambulance service saying he had got out of a vehicle before it was swept away.

2.24am – The green Volvo is located following a search by the fire service, Coastguard, police and Cornwall Rescue Group.

7.05am – The body of a 20-year-old man is found.

Sunday – A second body is discovered on a beach.

A FILM student with a bright future is how one friend of Ryan Martel described him.

The 26-year-old, who is also known as Ryan Chappel, is missing after the car he was travelling in with his sister was swept away by flood-waters on Saturday morning.

He attended Les Beaucamps School until 1999 before going on to study film and video at Portsmouth University and then broadcasting at Falmouth University.

Friend James Harrison, 27, remembers Mr Martel as an outgoing, happy person who loved to push the boundaries of film-making.

The pair met while they were studying at Portsmouth in 2005.

‘He loved film,’ said Mr Harrison.

‘He had a real passion and he would have gone a long way.’

He was seen as a positive person who wanted to get on in life.

‘He was chirpy person and very motivated. He was a great guy to be around and was really confident.’

Mr Harrison believes that his friend would have been able to move into professional filmmaking.

‘He was really good with film, and he had great knowledge about everything to do with film, especially 3D films.’

In his spare time, Mr Martel enjoyed motor sport racing and making small film productions.

Article posted on 27th April, 2009 - 2.30pm