Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), including the force’s underwater search and recovery unit, are continuing their search on Monday for a 37-year-old Petawawa man who jumped into the Barron River in the Laurentian Hills on Sunday afternoon and failed to resurface.
The man jumped into the water from a boat, the OPP’s Upper Ottawa Valley detachment said in a news release on Monday. He had not been wearing a life-jacket.
The man had been boating on a section of the river, about three kilometres west of Black Bay near Petawawa, with two other men. When they couldn’t find the man, the two men called 911 just after 1 p.m.
OPP launched an air and water search for the missing man, dispatching a helicopter and boats to the area, the release said. The Garrison Petawawa Fire Department also assisted with the search on Sunday, but first responders were unable to locate the missing man.
“Updates will be provided as they become available,” Const. Shawn Peever said in Monday’s release.
Sunday’s incident marks the second underwater search OPP have had to conduct within a two-hour radius of Ottawa this month.
An 11-year-old boy from Ottawa has been missing since Sept. 1, when a boat he was travelling in capsized on the St. Lawrence River, west of the village of Rockport.
The boy, who hadn’t been wearing a life-jacket, failed to resurface. Four other people were in the boat when it capsized and were all rescued.
OPP suspended their underwater search for the missing boy on Sept. 7. Late on Friday, Sept. 14, OPP released a statement saying their air and above-water searches and patrols along the St. Lawrence River remain active.
In the release, the Leeds County OPP detachment asked residents and visitors in the area to “remain vigilant while out on the river” and urged boaters to “slow down and be aware.”
Members of the public who have volunteered to help provincial police assisted with the ongoing search over the weekend, according to OPP.
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