Police officers and firefighters joined together on Tuesday to search the Bow River for bodies.
The search wasn’t for any specific person, but rather an opportunity to look for any missing persons who may have ended up in the river or on the banks of the waterway.
“In Calgary, we receive approximately 3,500 missing person reports each year,” acting Insp. Paul Wozney explained. “Most of those people are found, but there have been cases where people have voluntarily or involuntarily entered our waterways and have not been able to get out.”
“It’s not uncommon for us to find them deceased. Really, what we’re trying to do, is we are trying to provide some closure for these families.”
It’s the third consecutive year for the search, which uses a HAWCS helicopter for an aerial investigation while crews conduct ground searches along the Bow River and its banks.
No bodies were located in the first two years the search was held.
The search is conducted when water levels of the Bow River are at their lowest and clearest, which typically occurs in the fall. It started at Bearspaw Dam in northwest Calgary and moved south toward city limits.
Should any bodies be retrieved, police will work with the Calgary medical examiner’s office to determine their identity and if their death was criminal.