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Sadness as search for man swept away by South Saskatchewan River continues

Jun 1, 2017 | 4:06 PM

MEDICINE HAT – A man swept away by the South Saskatchewan River on Wednesday night has not yet been found.

The search for the man resumed at 6 a.m. on Thursday morning, after being put on hold around 1 a.m. the previous night. Multiple search and rescue agencies have been called in to assist with the effort to find the man, including military air assets out of CFB Suffield.

The operation has been described as a recovery operation by Medicine Hat Fire Chief Brian Stauth.

Shortly after 1:30 p.m. on Thursday afternoon, the parents of the missing man arrived by car from British Columbia. According to Corporal Shane Ryan of the Redcliff RCMP, they were briefed on the ongoing search efforts, as well as what the authorities plan to do in the evening.

Ryan said the man’s parents were shocked by what was happening.

“They’re surprised that this is going on,” said Ryan.

“Understandably, they find it hard to believe. They understand it, but at the same time, they’re in disbelief.”

After their briefing, the mother and father of the man were approached by one of his friends, who handed them their missing son’s boots, recovered from the area where he had entered the water. After receiving the boots, the man’s mother wept at the edge of the boat launch parking lot.

First responders will remain at the Strathcona Park boat launch until the operation is finished. Ryan indicated that search efforts will now be focused further downstream along the South Saskatchewan.

“The current is quite strong, and if somebody goes in the water, they get washed downstream,” said Ryan.

“We’ve searched, extremely thoroughly, the area from Maple Street Bridge west to the river, to where he was last seen, and we’ve covered that area numerous times by foot, by boat, and by air, with no results. As such, we have expanded our search area and gone downstream.”

Ryan could not detail as to how the man ended up in the main current of the river, despite earlier reports indicating the man was swimming in the water at the time of the incident. However, he did say that the search is still being handled as a missing persons case.

“Until either time dictates otherwise, or we learn something else,” said Ryan.