Sergeant Searle was the first member of the North West Mounted Police, which later became the RCMP, to be killed in British Columbia in the line of duty. He was not the victim of a whiskey runner's bullet, but of a river in flood. Buried in the Frontier Cemetery in Creston, a small plaque in his honor has been mounted adjacent to his gravestone.
The RCMP website has a short story on Sergeant Searle on their history page.
1921 - Honor Roll Number 44.
#4995 Sgt. Arthur George Searle age 33 died when he drowned near Creston, B.C.
Sgt. Arthur Searle along with #8916 Cst. Claude Uren and #9504 Cst. John Burton were patrolling on horseback in an attempt to capture some whiskey runners.
When they arrived at Kootenay Flats near Creston BC they discovered that the approach to bridge over the Goat River had been washed out. The members decided to try and take their horses across the flooded river and with Sgt. Searle leading, they proceeded to ride them into the water. Searle’s horse plunged into a deep spot and panicked throwing him into the fast water and he was swept into a culvert. He desperately tried to hold onto the reins with one hand and the edge of the culvert with the other, but before the constables could save him the force of the water swept him away. His body was not found until three months later and he was buried in the community cemetery at Creston BC.
From RCMP History