Body of missing man found in Sylvan Lake: RMCP
Posted Aug 21, 2019 8:10 pm.
Last Updated Aug 22, 2019 9:11 pm.
Red Deer (660 NEWS) — At around 6:35 p.m. RCMP discovered the body of a man in Sylvan Lake after a two-day search.
The 19-year-old man was found close to the location that he went missing when he fell off an inflatable tube on Wednesday.
The search on Thursday included the use of underwater cameras, sonar, boat and shore searches.
The Central Alberta Rescue Diving Society, Underwater Recovery Team assisted in the search.
On Wednesday, RCMP said they were called to the popular summer spot around 3:30 p.m. to reports of a possible drowning.
Police said witnesses told them two men were on inflatable tubes when a wave knocked them into the water.
One was pulled into someone’s nearby dinghy, but they couldn’t find the second man.
Sylvan Lake resident Eric Francis, who was out helping with the search, says it sounds like the pair were pushed out of the “swim zone”, possibly by the wind.
“I’m not sure how they were related if one was trying to save the other, but they got to a very deep area, way beyond where perhaps they should have been,” Francis said.
“One gentleman disappeared under the water just as some other people were being plucked out of the water and they are still searching for that man right now.”
The RCMP also brought in their helicopter to aid in the search.
Francis says this is a reminder for everyone on the importance of wearing a life-jacket when out on the water.
Rescue efforts have been suspended for the evening due to darkness but will resume on Thursday morning.
