A 46-year-old man has been arrested and charged after an investigation into a deadly boating accident that occurred in April.
As per the Ontario Provincial Police, the incident happened on April 25 just after 10 p. m. along the St. Lawrence River.
Authorities were dispatched to the scene following reports of a capsized boat in the river, north of Grenadier Island.
A 15-foot aluminum boat with several people on board had flipped over, leaving one person missing.
The Leeds 1000 Islands Fire Service found one individual unresponsive in the water. This person, a 41-year-old from Ottawa, was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, where they were later declared dead.
The investigation was carried out by the Leeds County OPP with support from the Leeds OPP Crime Unit, Leeds County Marine Unit, Underwater Search and Recovery Unit (USRU), and the OPP Traffic Incident Management and Enforcement (TIME) Team.
Following this investigation, James Merkley from Mallorytown was arrested on August 31 and charged with causing death by criminal negligence. This charge stems from the findings of investigators during their inquiry.
The accused is being held in custody while awaiting a bail hearing at the Ontario Court of Justice.
Anyone who has information about this incident is encouraged to reach out to the Leeds County OPP at 1-888-310-1122.
The Kingston Whig-Standard
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