WINNIPEG – A local group made their final arrangements Sunday to drag the Red River.
Sparked by Tina Fontaine’s discovery last month in the river by police divers, a group called Drag the Red was formed by Bernadette Smith. Smith’s sister Claudette Osborne went missing six years ago.
“When Tina Fontaine’s body was found here we’ve often wondered about the water and the secrets that they hold,” said Smith. “You want to bring someone’s loved one home and give them some answers as to where their loved one is.”
The group thinks the answers could be lying at the bottom of the Red and possibly uncovered by a team of volunteers, such as Kyle Kematch, whose sister is also missing.
“Hopefully we’re going to go along with the current and pick up anything we can,” said Kematch.
Several boats will pull metal bars along the bottom of the river, dragging hooks attached to chains designed to pick up anything and everything, including bodies.
“We are never going to be able to do the whole river but at least if we could do areas that were frequented, perhaps where bodies were found,” said Smith.
“Each crew will be checking certain areas and marking it as we go along,” said search organizer Percy Ningewance.
Crews will be made up of volunteers, including Chelsea Cardinal, who will search along the riverbank and offer trauma support.
“I don’t like why we’re down here but I look around and I look at the sheer number of people that are here supporting, and that gives me hope that maybe some of these families are going to find closure,” said Cardinal.
Closure many are still looking for. “I try to search as much as a I can. Wherever I’m walking I put up posters. I try to search every day,” said Kematch.
The group completed a test run Saturday and will begin the search for missing bodies by dragging the Red River Wednesday.
Comments