Search continues for Niagara hiker
They all had their own personal stories at the Niagara Glen Wednesday morning.
The search of the lower Niagara River Gorge for missing 29year-old Alicia Kirkwood has hit home for many people.
“I lost my daughter — she was in that gorge for three weeks and I have a really strong sense of what (Kirkwood’s family and friends) are going through and how difficult it is,” said Wayne Campbell.
“My heart goes out to them.” It was the loss in 2013 of his daughter, Katey, that led the Niagara Falls city councillor to want to help members of the community who organized through social media a search for Kirkwood, who fell into the Niagara River while hiking in the Niagara Gorge with her boyfriend Friday.
Emergency personnel have been looking for Kirkwood ever since.
Campbell said the volunteer search party was looking for water to bring to the Niagara Glen, where about 50 members met near the metal stairs leading to the gorge at about 10 a.m. Wednesday.
“Someone donated the water, but said they couldn’t deliver it, and I offered to be part of this group by delivering the water for them. I have no idea who the young woman is, it’s just you want to help the best that you can. It’s drawing the community together.”
Niagara Falls resident Keaton Koabel said he was drawn to the grassroots community search by seeing its growing support on social media.
“I didn’t know her personally, but found a compelling amount of support that was rallying today for her and I happened to have the day off, so I decided to come down and offer what I could, whether it be emotional support or first aid,” he said.
“There are professionals here from search and rescue from around the area that are going to be conducting their search and I don’t want to compromise them in any way. If I can go down there, I’m very familiar with the gorge, so I want to be an extra set of eyes, but within my bounds.”
Koabel said he also has a personal connection to the Niagara Gorge, which is a popular hiking spot.
“I almost lost my girlfriend at the time because she had slipped
on a rock and I had caught her just in time before she went into the water,” he said.
“I know how scary that could be and I wanted to come out for the girl’s boyfriend who was with her at the time. I can’t imagine what he must be going through right now. In the same position, I feel like I would need the same amount of support.”
The volunteer search was organized by Niagara Falls resident Josh Green.
Green and his wife, Tanya, own GO Gitness Niagara and have known Kirkwood and her family for about seven years.
Green said Kirkwood has been a regular client at the group fitness and personal training studio in Niagara Falls, while other members of the family have also been frequent visitors.
“Alicia was a happy, bubbly, free spirit,” said Tanya.
“She never had a bad thing to say about anybody. She was just a really good soul — an amazing human being.”
Tanya said the outpouring of support on social media, and the number of people who showed up Wednesday, was “unbelievable.”
“There’s a lot of people who have had issues with this area, there’s been a lot of dangerous things that have happened. I think it just touched people, especially when it’s somebody so young and vibrant.”
Mikey Henley, a trainer at Go Fitness Niagara who had Kirkwood as one of his students, said he attended Wednesday to show support for the family.
“She was a friend. Upbeat, amazing spirit. She was adventurous and outgoing. I lost my brother a few years ago in the Chippawa River and it took us four days to find his body, so I know what it’s like to not have that kind of closure …”
Prior to Wednesday’s community search, Niagara Parks Police Insp. Paul Forcier reminded participants of several safety precautions, such as staying on marked trails, staying away from the swift waters of the lower Niagara River, and not to hike alone.
“We talked about the class five/six rapids there, which tend to be the most treacherous that can be classified. There’s a lot of natural hazards, in terms of boulders and rocks.”
Those in the community search were asked to sign in and out of a book so organizers could keep track of participating volunteers. Participants were asked to wear search party stickers.
Forcier said while Niagara Parks Police understand the desire of community members to support Kirkwood’s family, the investigation and search continues with the assistance of personnel and resources on both sides of the international border.
“There was an exhaustive search in and around of the time of the incident that went well into the dark with resources in the water, in the air and on land, and there was some searching that was done on the weekend as well.”
He said police have received support from some of its privatesector partners, including Niagara Helicopters and Whirlpool Jet Boat Tours.
“There’s still emergency services that are actively engaged in searching. There’s two vessels from the Niagara Regional Police out in the lower Niagara River now and word gets out through the emergency services on both sides of the international border, so we never stop looking. We hope that we get a break.”