Coroner will examine teen kayaker’s drowning in Lake St-Louis

How did an 18-year-old kayaker drown so close to the Beaconsfield shoreline?

That question, and others, will hopefully be answered now that the Coroner’s Office has been tasked to conduct an inquest into the death of a young man who drowned last Thursday in Lake St-Louis only metres from the Centennial Park shoreline.

Witnesses reportedly heard the man call for help after falling into the water, but he slipped beneath the waves before help could arrive.

It took several hours before a search-and-rescue effort discovered the man’s body, which was recovered by a dive team around 9 p.m.

The man’s kayak, rented from a watercraft station in Centennial Park, was found perched in the rocks of the breaker wall next to Lord Reading Yacht Club. His lifejacket was also found floating in the water.

A buoy floated by a search team to mark the spot where the body was found bobbed only two or three metres from the breaker wall and not far from shore.

“No one knows what really happened,” said Beaconsfield Mayor Georges Bourelle, who arrived at the park while search-and-recovery efforts were underway.

The tragedy marked the 33rd drowning this summer in Quebec.

But given the proximity to shore and the breaker wall, the man’s swimming ability confounded those who witnessed recovery efforts.

Bourelle said a distraught family member told him the deceased was “a good swimmer” who had taken swimming lessons.

“It doesn’t make sense so we’ll have to see what the Coroner finds,” said Bourelle.

In order to rent a kayak or paddle board, users must sign a waiver, be at least 16 years old and abide by a potentially life-saving instruction posted at the station: “Wearing of a life-jacket is mandatory for all boaters.”

Bourelle said the man, from StLaurent, had given his driver’s licence as ID to rent the kayak.

The first-year watercraft station, operated by a subcontractor, closed the next day but has since reopened.

“I wish to thank all rescue workers who were on site and acted with professionalism to support the family and friends,” the mayor said.