‘Drag the Red’ group in Winnipeg sees support wane

WINNIPEG — They have spent hundreds of hours on the Red River, casting their hooks into the water, and combing it’s banks, in hopes of finding a clue that will lead them to their missing loved ones.

But the efforts of the “Drag the Red” group have hit some rough waters.

Volunteer support is lagging and so are the dollars that help fuel the initiative.

“When a tragedy happens, there are a lot of people that get involved, but one year later, where is everybody?” Bernadette Smith said.

Drag the Red launched just weeks after the body of Tina Fontaine was pulled from the Red River last August.

Volunteers drop a bar with hooks to the bottom of the river, to see what it snags, while a ground crew walks the banks of the river looking for clothing, hair or other evidence that might help track down a missing loved one.

Earlier this summer an anthropologist from Brandon University gave volunteers a brief training session so they would know what to do if they came across partial remains.

Smith, who’s sister went missing in 2008, says at the start of the year they had more than one hundred volunteers, but some days only a handful show.

“We realize that people have lives, we’re just asking for one day a week for people to come out if they can,” Smith said.  “We also need people to lend their boats and help drag the river.”

This summer organizers say they’ve pulled up what appears to be clumps of hair attached to sticks and a gun.