TORONTO — The province’s police watchdog has cleared Ontario Provincial Police officers in the death of a 32-year-old woman who drowned in Lake Huron last month.
The Special Investigation Unit said the woman left a nearby family cottage and walked alone to a beach at the edge of Pavilion Road in the town of Bluewater, Ont., in Huron County, between 4:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Nov. 1.
After an hour had passed and the family realized the woman had not returned, they went searching for her and saw her about 30 to 45 metres from shore and called 911.
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Police arrived on the scene shortly thereafter and observed the woman yelling, which is when an officer and a family member entered the water “arm-in-arm” but were unable to locate her as waves broke over their heads.
About an hour later, investigators said firefighters and the Coast Guard, with the help of a search and rescue helicopter, located the woman’s body and brought her to shore.
A pathologist determined the cause of death was drowning and the woman’s identity has not been released.
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“It is clear that the responding officer waded into the lake in full uniform in a well-intentioned but unsuccessful attempt to rescue the woman,” SIU director Tony Loparco said in a release.
“I find no action or inaction on the part of the police in any way contributed to the death of the woman.”
The SIU is an arm’s length agency that investigates reports involving police where there has been death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault.
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