Body of Missing Boater Found Near Belle River

The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) have reported that divers discovered the body of a 38-year-old man from Windsor who was last seen struggling in Lake St. Clair on Saturday.

According to a news release issued Monday morning, OPP’s underwater search and recovery team along with Essex County marine units located the individual around 4:35 p. m. on Sunday.

Police stated that officers were called to a location near Belle River Marina around 7:45 Saturday evening after receiving reports of a missing boater.

An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from the U. S. Coast Guard was dispatched from Air Station Detroit to assist in the search, as confirmed by a spokesperson for the Great Lakes District Command Center.

This action followed a request from the Royal Canadian Air Force’s Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Trenton, according to their statement.

“After approximately one-point-five hours of search efforts, JRCC Trenton released.. helicopter from the search, returning them to base,” said the command center in their statement.

Tyler Burniston, a volunteer with marine rescue, told CBC his team remained at the scene until about 11 p. m.

“You really can’t see a whole lot at that point,” he said about why they decided to head back to the marina.

‘We’ve done everything that we possibly can’

“The sun’s gone down. You can’t really use a ton of artificial light because it’ll wash out your night vision as a searcher. So your ability to search further out from the vessel becomes very diminished.”

Searchers do have infrared cameras but those also come with limitations, he noted. Plus, searches can take an emotional toll on crew members.

“If we’re getting to the point that we’re standing down on a search, it’s not because, ‘oh, we’re bored. We want to go home,’” Burniston explained.

“It’s because we’ve done everything that we possibly can do to bring their loved ones home. And unfortunately, that situation doesn’t always work out the way that we want it to.”

Burniston advised anyone heading out onto or into water should always check weather updates on their phones before setting off and avoid going alone.

If they do go out, he emphasized that wearing a personal flotation device (PFD) is essential.

“Number one thing I hear from people is ‘I don’t need to wear a PFD. I don’t need to wear a life jacket. I can swim,’” he said.

“It’s one thing to be able to swim in a pool in your backyard. When you’re swimming in … two-foot or three-foot waves after being out all day when you’re tired and dealing with cold water-it’s an entirely different situation.”

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