Second body pulled from river
Man jumped in but turned back in strong current; police issue safety reminder
A quiet family picnic to celebrate Eid turned into an attempted rescue mission on Friday when a stranger jumped into the Ottawa River and tried to rescue two drowning fishermen.
The man was unable to reach them before they disappeared into the dangerous waters.
Police water rescue crews using sonar recovered the body of one of the fishermen near Bate Island early Saturday morning and continued to search until 5 a.m. in the hopes of finding the second fisherman. They resumed the search later Saturday using drones and sonar.
On Monday evening, police announced the search has resulted in the discovery of a second man’s body. Investigators were working to positively identify the victim.
Neither man has been publicly identified. Police said they had been in touch with their families and would consult with them before releasing any information.
The would-be rescuer, who asked not to be named, was finishing dinner with his family at a picnic table on the small island, which is midway along the Champlain Bridge, when someone began calling for help and asking whether anyone knew how to swim.
“He told us his cousin and friend were in the water, drowning.”
All three had been fishing on rocks off the island when one of the fishermen went into the water around 7:30 p.m. He was not a strong swimmer and soon got into trouble.
A second fisherman jumped in to help his friend, but also began to struggle in the water.
That was when the third fisherman, who couldn’t swim, began yelling for help.
“We saw at least one of the guys in the water with his arms flailing,” the rescuer said.
He quickly reacted, running toward the east side of the small island where the fishermen were and jumping into the water in an attempt to reach them.
“I kind of reacted without really thinking.”
He swam out 40 or 50 feet, quickly becoming exhausted in the quick-moving current.
“I couldn’t see them anymore. I was at the point that, if I had swum further, I would have been in trouble.”
A second man who had also jumped into the water turned around sooner, fearing he, too, would get into trouble in the water. That area of the river is marked by a swift current and rapids.
The man said he was upset and angry that he couldn’t do more for the fishermen.
His family was one of several having outdoor Eid celebrations on Friday night, he said. Usually families gather at each others’ homes or restaurants, but, because of COVID-19, people have moved celebrations outdoors to prevent further spread of the virus.
Many people mark Eid with acts of generosity and kindness. The would-be rescuer said his actions were simply what he would hope someone else would do for him in similar circumstances.
“I don’t consider myself a hero. I think it was just my instant reaction.”
The man returned to the scene on Saturday to search, in vain, for a wallet he lost during the rescue attempt. He said he did not stop to talk to police on Friday after he got out of the water, but headed home once first responders arrived.
The experience left him with an increased sense of how dangerous the Ottawa River and other bodies of water could be.
“You can’t be playing around in the water. If you are, make sure you have a life-jacket.”
Police also had water safety on their minds Saturday as they resumed a search at Bate Island and set up a command centre at the Remic Rapids parking lot, where some people nearby were wading in the river.
Insp. Russell Lucas said he saw people fishing Saturday on rocks at the same place the fishermen had gone into the water and told them what had happened just hours earlier. One of the fishermen there on Saturday morning was wearing a personal flotation device, Lucas added.
“If you are going to be out on the water on rapids, regardless of whether you think you can swim or not, you can’t swim when you are unconscious. If you slip and fall and bang your head, you are not going to be able to swim.”
The Saturday search for the second fisherman included six officers searching the shoreline using drones and others in a boat using sonar.
Lucas said everyone should focus on safety when they were near the Ottawa River and other bodies of water.
“Due diligence is what we ask of everybody. It is a beautiful day and we want everybody to enjoy the long weekend.”
Lucas said police remained hopeful they might find the second fisherman alive, “but the expectation is that we have already recovered one body and chances are that the second one will be recovered as well.”
In July, two people drowned in the Ottawa River within days of each other. One was a 20-yearold man who went missing after swimming with a group at Britannia Beach, and the other was a 14-year-old boy who didn’t surface after jumping from the Prince of Wales Bridge.