Runner turns swimmer Cooling off in the North River results in large emergency response

It was a dip in the water that drew a concerned, large crowd.

Police, paramedics, firefighters and the Coast Guard responded Wednesday afternoon to a report of a man walking into the frigid water under the North River causeway.

The search, which included a couple dozen responders and three boats hitting the water, came to a positive, but rather bizarre, conclusion.

“I guess it’s kind of a blooper kind of story,’’ says Queens County RCMP Cpl. Scott Gosse. Odd indeed.

Turns out a man had parked his vehicle nearby, gone for a run, stripped down to his underwear, and walked into the water for a refreshing dunk. A motorist that saw the man head into the water called police around 2:25 p.m. Gosse says at least eight RCMP officers, some Charlottetown police officers, EMS, the North River Fire Department and the Coast Guard all responded.

“It’s an emergency call and we treat it that somebody might be in a life and death situation – and we treat it very seriously,’’ says Gosse.

The Coast Guard and the North River Fire Department both had a boat in the water – the RCMP were on the way with a third boat – searching for the missing person. Throughout the search in the water and along shore that lasted a little less than one hour, the missing man was out of the water, sitting in his car, watching all the commotion, wondering what was happening.

Gosse says the person who made the initial call to police recognized the man sitting in his vehicle as the person he saw wading into the water.

The motorist informed the police.

The runner-turned-swimmer, says Gosse, was embarrassed and apologized for causing such a disturbance.

“He was assessed at the scene and deemed to be in good health both physically and mentally,’’ says Gosse. “Certainly he was spoken to about the safety concerns and what the general public would see.’’

Gosse says the response to the emergency call was impressive.

“In hindsight, it’s nice to know that we were able to react and have that many agencies to come together in such a short time frame,’’ he notes.

Sadly, the area is well known as being the site that a Charlottetown man jumped to his death in 2013.