For the second day in a row, divers were in the icy waters of Black River Lake in King’s County, searching for any sign of a missing Nova Scotia man.
The man was travelling with a group of snowmobilers when he went through the ice on Saturday night.
“I could see him in the water, splashing and panicking and screaming,” Randy Thorpe told Global News Monday. “There was a lot of screaming and hollering.”
Randy and Kim Thorpe witnessed the terrifying events from their cottage. They say once the victim went through the ice, other snowmobilers stopped to try to help.
At one point, Randy says there were five machines and their riders in the water.
“Some of them had to be rescued, some made it out on their own.”
Randy says he fell through the ice himself while trying to rescue others.
“There was a father and son here, the father made it out and he went back in to rescue his son. That was a close call. The boy was ready to give up and the father said no, you’re not giving up, you’re getting out. And he got his son out.”
While Randy was out helping to get the snowmobilers to safety, his wife Kim was at their cottage.
“We just knew we had to help them any way possible. Randy went over, I just waited here, put some wood in the fire and blankets, tried to keep people warm as they showed up. Something we’ll never forget,” she said. “It was pretty tragic.”
The RCMP Underwater Recovery Team had to cut sections of the frozen lake apart in order to search the waters, all while the man’s family watched on from the nearby shoreline.
At this point, RCMP aren’t releasing many details about the incident, including the victim’s identity.
“I won’t be releasing his name. I can tell you he’s a 26-year-old male from New Ross,” said RCMP Const. Kelli Gaudet Monday.
Those who live in the area say the lake can be deceiving. It may look completely frozen, but because of the current, it’s actually like slush in some spots.
In light of the accident, police are reminding the public to take precautions before heading out on the ice.
“If you’re planning on going across any body of water on a snowmobile, make sure you wear a life jacket. The ice might appear to be frozen but it might not be frozen all the way through,” Gaudet said.
As for the Thorpes, they say the accident will stick with them for a long time.
“There were a lot of heroes here that night. It could have been a lot worse. Some of these people that got out, they were in bad shape. You can still hear the screaming and hollering inside your head. That’ll be a long time going,” Randy said.
RCMP say they will make a determination about where their investigation goes next at the end of the day on Monday.
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