Alberta mother, son and mother’s boyfriend found safe after disappearing near Oldman River: LPS

Editor’s note: We originally reported that the group was travelling on Old Man Road but have since corrected the article to say it was the Oldman River. We regret the error.

Three missing people last heard from while floating down a river in southern Alberta have been safely found, the Lethbridge Police Service said Tuesday afternoon.

The trio was made up of a mother, her three-year-old son and her boyfriend. Police said the mother texted a family member on Sunday saying she had gone floating down a river.

She told her relative the group was running out of food and water and would need to be picked up “south of Lethbridge.”

The next day, the family member got another text from the woman saying her phone was about to die but that she still needed a ride and that she would call them at 3 p.m. Police said she had not been heard from since.

In a news release issued shortly after 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, the LPS said “the mother and son were found south of Lethbridge by HALO Air Ambulance who volunteered their services to help aid in the search co-ordinated by RCMP.”

Police also confirmed the boyfriend was safely found.

Police said their investigation was complicated because of a lack of details about where on the water the trio was and when they went out on the water.

Police said the group was looking for ammolite, a rare gemstone found in Alberta, the search has been concentrated south of the city along the Oldman River. The gems are often found along the Oldman River, according to the University of Alberta.

“No further information will be released,” police said in the news release saying the trio had been found.

–With files from Global News’ Phil Heidenreich