Body of diver recovered from St. Lawrence River

An Ottawa-area man in his 60s died while diving in the St. Lawrence River off Brockville on the weekend, police have confirmed.

Police recovered the body of the man on Sunday morning, said Brockville Police Service Acting Sgt. April Muldoon.

“He went missing yesterday afternoon and he was located this morning in the waterway in the St. Lawrence River,” said Muldoon, adding police found the man's body after it drifted to the American side of the river.

Police were withholding the victim's name at the request of the family, Muldoon said.

Few details were available, but Muldoon said the man went diving Saturday off the shore at Centeen Park.

The man's remains were still in the hands of New York state authorities late Sunday; the body was to be returned to Canada for a post-mortem examination.

Centeen Park is a popular spot for divers, who often head out from the east-end location to explore local wrecks or a nearby underwater sculpture park.

Helen Cooper, owner of Dive Brockville Adventure Centre, said many people continue to dive the river despite the colder weather. Divers can continue diving as long as the river is not frozen. Cooper runs her own charters until it's too cold for the boat to go out.

There were “quite a few divers” in her shop Saturday and Sunday, but the victim was not among her customers, Cooper said.

Other members of the diving community told Cooper the victim was part of a father-son diving expedition, but learned no further details about how the incident unfolded.

The tragedy was the first local diving fatality of the year, she said.

“I thought that we'd got through a whole year without any tragedies.”

Despite the terrible outcome, the fact the victim's body has been recovered might at least provide the family with some closure, Cooper said.

“That's always the hard, hard part, is when a tragedy happens and you can't find them,” she said.

“Now they'll be getting some answers about what happened.”