OPP leading 'recovery effort' for man who capsized in canoe near Kingsville
Provincial police are leading a "recovery effort" for a boater who capsized his canoe while fishing on Lake Erie near Kingsville Sunday.
Friends of the 25-year-old man, who was alone in the boat at the time, watched from shore as the boat overturned around 5 p.m., according to the OPP.
It's believed the man did not know how to swim and that he was not wearing a life jacket at the time, according to police.
"If someone has been missing and underwater and hasn't resurfaced in 20-30 minutes I think it's safe to say that unfortunately that party needs to be recovered rather than saved," explained Const. Jim Root.
"We need to think of the family and we need to recover this person as quickly as possible so they can begin the grieving process and have closure," he added.
Matt Prangley from the Pelee Wings Nature Store said news of the search sent a chain of messages flying Sunday night as members of the area's outdoors community checked in on one another.
"It's really sad and disheartening that something like that can happen that's very easily preventable," he said, adding the store sometimes has to turn away people who want to rent boats or kayaks because they don't have the right gear or training for the current conditions.
"We have customers … and they want to go out of Lake Erie in whatever they came dressed in," he explained. "The issue with that is just because the air is warm doesn't mean the water is warm. You have to take both factors into account."
A command centre was set up at the Leamington Marina on Robson Road Monday morning.
The Essex County and Chatham-Kent marine units were leading the search, along with a helicopter and teams of divers.
Members of the OPP marine unit, Kingsville fire department and paramedics launched a widespread search Sunday night.
The crew aboard the Canadian Coast Guard ship Cape Dundas based in Amherstburg and CCG Auxiliary Colchester Guardian were also part of the search effort.
