A Niverville man is missing after his boat hit a reef on Lake Winnipeg earlier this week.
On November 14, 2011 at 2:30pm, Bloodvein RCMP members were alerted that two boaters were on their way back to Bloodvein from Matheson Island when their boat flipped as it hit a reef on Lake Winnipeg.
The two boat occupants were ejected. One man was able to swim to the reef and the other, a 66-year-old man from Niverville, was last seen floating in the water.
The survivor, was spotted on the reef by a local fisherman checking his nets about an hour later and was brought to the Bloodvein Nursing Station. He suffered non-life threatening injuries. The 66-year-old Niverville man could not be found at that time.
RCMP Members sought and obtained the assistance of local volunteers, the Canadian Forces Base Trenton Search and Rescue who dispatched a CC130 – Hercules aircraft to assist with the search. Assistance was also obtained from an auxiliary Search and Rescue Team from Matheson Island.
RCMP members patrolled the area on boat to no avail. However, the boat and a number of items believed to belong to the missing person was located. The missing man could not be found.
Weather conditions and visibility was reported as being poor. Searchers were forced to abort the search for the missing man due to poor weather and lack of visibility.
The two boat occupants were not wearing life jackets.
The search for the missing continues.
