Searchers find 23-year-old’s body in Shortts Lake

Shortts Lake, N.S. — A large-scale search effort took over Shortts Lake, N.S., for much of the day.

First responders and nearby residents frantically searched for hours, looking for any sign of a man in his 20’s who was kayaking with another man when he went missing early this morning.

“Both males went out in kayaks and both kayaks capsized and their cries for help were heard from local residents,” said Cst. Dal Hutchinson, RCMP.

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One neighbour told Global News he saw two heads in the water when he woke up. By the time he got outside to help, one man had gone under.
Nearby residents were able to pull a 22-year-old man to safety, but his 23-year-old step brother slipped under the water.

“As everyone can appreciate, it is a difficult time for the family right now and they’re just requiring some assistance from other family and friends to get through this,” Cst. Hutchinson told Global News.

Residents who live on the lake and helped officials search say 3-feet of weeds at the bottom of the lake made it difficult to navigate the waters.

The area is a tight knit community, many out searching know the family personally.

“We grew up together here, so I’ve known them for a few years,” said Brett “We were out for about two and a half hours out on the jet ski, just looking around and seeing what we could find, it’s really difficult, it’s a hard time right now”.

Shortly after 1 pm Sunday, the man’s body was spotted by an RCMP helicopter flying over the area.

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“I couldn’t imagine what it’s doing to them. I never knew the boys but I knew both the mother and the father,” said Aline Giles, who watched the search unfold from her porch.

RCMP are still investigating to determine why the kayaks capsized. The name of the victim is not being released at this time.