EDMONTON – Two boaters who were reported missing after leaving for a canoeing trip in northern Alberta on Wednesday have been found. A search is still in full force, though, for two others.
Those two men were part of a group of four who were reported missing to RCMP early Wednesday afternoon. The group left on a canoeing trip on the Christina River on Saturday, June 8. They departed from an area south of Janvier, which is located about 120 kilometres southeast of Fort McMurray.
RCMP, with the assistance of local search and rescue crews and the military, began their search for the men early Wednesday afternoon.
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Around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, RCMP helicopters located two of the missing men on an island in the Christina River. A military helicopter from the Canadian Forces Base in Cold Lake was sent out to help with the rescue, and the two men were airlifted to safety. The two Lac La Biche men, a 67-year-old and a 59-year-old, were treated for minor injuries on scene.
“(They had) no supplies, lots of water, no food or other resources and the bugs were pretty bad, I understand, a little hypothermic. But they sounded like they’re okay,” explained Superintendent Bob Couture with Wood Buffalo RCMP.
Rescue crews are actively searching by air for the other two men, a 66-year-old and a 58-year-old, who are both from Lac La Biche.
RCMP say the four men were travelling together in two canoes, a red one and a green one. The two men who have been located were travelling in the green canoe. It was located Wednesday on the Athabasca River, just south of Fort Chipewyan.
RCMP say the red canoe has not been located, and they are “very worried.”
Heavy rain in the region has made for high and fast-flowing waters. Boat access to area rivers has been shut down.
“The message being, stay off the water,” Couture added.
Anyone with information on the missing men is asked to contact their nearest RCMP detachment. Wood Buffalo RCMP can be reached at 780-788-4000.
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