Divers with Quebec provincial police recovered the body of a 25-year-old man who drowned while swimming in the Gatineau River on Sunday, according to a release.
The MRC des Collines-de-l’Outaouais police received a call at roughly 1 p.m. on Sunday about a man who failed to resurface while swimming with three of his friends near the Gendron Bridge in La Pêche. The covered bridge is a popular tourist destination in the Outaouais region near Wakefield, Que.
Police said in a statement that alcohol was not believed to be a factor and the man was not wearing a floatation device.
An initial search by patrol officers failed, so divers with Sureté du Québec were called in.
They arrived in the evening and made a dive despite poor weather conditions and darkness, police said.
The man’s body was pulled from the river at 9:45 p.m., at which point paramedics confirmed his death.
Next of kin are still being contacted and the man’s identity has not yet been revealed.