Reports of man falling into river Wednesday likely false
The Medicine Hat Police Service has confirmed that a report of a missing man falling off the Trans-Canada bridge was likely a false alarm.
According to a statement released Wednesday afternoon, MHPS has grave doubts about the alleged witness’s story.
“The Medicine Hat Police Service has investigated the concern that an unknown male may have fallen into the South Saskatchewan river,” the statement reads. “At this point, investigators have serious concerns over the legitimacy of the complaint. The lack of physical evidence, in conjunction with inconsistencies in the witness statements lead police to the conclusion that the events as described by the witness did not occur.”
Despite these concerns, both the Medicine Hat Fire Service and South East Alberta Search and Rescue spent much of the day using their river resources to search for the supposed missing man.
“We’ve had a report there was an individual who fell in the river early this morning,” SSgt. Trevor Humphries said earlier in the day. “We have search efforts out there because this report may be true but we are not absolutely sure it is true. We are working to try to confirm the validity of it.”
There is no word if charges will be laid in this case.
Another false alarm
A call to emergency services Wednesday evening regarding a possible “bloated body” in the water was also a false alarm, the fire department has confirmed.
Crews responded to the call but discovered a deceased animal to be the object seen by witnesses.