Impaired boater charged after Peterborough area drowning: OPP

An Ontario Provincial Police Marine Unit vessel is shown in this file image (image courtesy: OPP)

A York Region boater is facing charges after one of their occupants fell into the water and went missing in a Peterborough area river Tuesday afternoon.

According to Peterborough County OPP, officers were called to the Otonabee River at around 2:30 p.m. following reports of a man who fell off a boat.

Police say the caller reported that they were travelling east when another nearby boat passed by and one of its four occupants fell into the water. The caller added that the missing person was not wearing a life jacket and was no longer able to be seen.

The OPP and its marine unit connected with the three remaining people who were still on board. They were brought to shore as a search for the missing man got underway.

Through conversations with the three occupants, police say they learned that they had been drinking alcohol, and an officer demanded the operator to provide a breath sample.

The operator, a 28-year-old from Whitchurch-Stouville, was subsequently arrested and held for bail.

He was charged with operation causing death and operation while impaired with a blood alcohol concentration exceeding 80 milligrams per 100 millilitres.

Police confirm that divers from the OPP Underwater Search and Recovery Unit (USRU) found the body of the victim at around 9 p.m. and pronounced the 39-year-old Oshawa man dead on scene.