Community members and search teams are looking for a man who went missing while fishing in Nova Scotia’s Sissiboo River Wednesday night.
In a release Thursday, police say Digby RCMP officers responded at 8:45 p.m. to a report of a man who had entered the river but had not exited.
Police say the man is Graham Cromwell, 48, of Weymouth Falls.
Members of the community, as well as Local Ground Search and Rescue teams, RCMP police dog services, RCMP air services, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the Department of Lands and Forestry and the Joint Rescue Co-Ordination Centre assisted in the search Thursday.
The search was expected to resume Friday morning.
Investigators believe Cromwell is in or near the river, but said there is a possibility he may have gotten out of the river. They are asking anyone who has seen or spoken with Cromwell to contact Digby RCMP at 902-245-2579.
Cromwell is described as Black, 5’10”, approximately 185 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. It is believed he entered the water where Gates Lane crosses the river.
Community search
Josh Mabie, a member of Cromwell’s extended family, was one of many community members out searching on Thursday.
Late that afternoon, he said everybody is “hoping for the best” for Cromwell, who is the father of four boys.
“At this time we’re going to try to keep faith, keep hope,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of family that are worried.”
He believes Cromwell was last seen wearing sneakers, camouflage pants and a fleece pullover jacket. Mabie said many people are looking for him and “everyone’s doing what they can to help.”
“He’s outgoing in the community, he’s funny, he loves to hunt, fish, he loves his four-wheeler, he loves his kids,” said Mabie.
“He’s an adventurous guy, strong-minded and strong-willed. If anybody was going to make it through this, it would be him.”
‘He just needs to come home’
In a statement Friday, Fisheries and Oceans Canada spokesperson Lauren Sankey said fishery officers were on patrol Wednesday night when they “encountered four people who were fishing on the Sissiboo River near Weymouth Falls.”
“When fishery officers attempted to carry out an inspection, the four individuals fled on foot toward the nearby Weymouth Dam and jumped into the water,” the statement alleged, adding that fishery officers managed to find three of the fishers but not the fourth.
Sankey said fishery officers remained at the scene until the RCMP released them from the search on the evening of April 28. She added there is “no evidence” to suggest the fishers were participating in rights-based fishing.
On Thursday, Mabie said he worries that if Cromwell is still out there, he might be scared to come home.
“We just want him to know that if he’s out there and he knows what’s going on, that it’s OK and that he’s not in trouble,” Mabie said. “If he thinks that he’s in trouble, he’s not and he just needs to come home.”
Comments