Guelph student dies while kayaking; second student missing

Kaya Firth and Zach Sutherland were involved in a kayak incident, in Caledon, Ont., on Sunday, Feb. 21, 2015. (Facebook)

One University of Guelph student is dead and another missing as the result of a kayak trip on the Credit River north of Georgetown.

School officials said Monday that Kaya Firth died while kayaking on the river, while her boyfriend Zach Sutherland was still missing as of Monday afternoon.

Two empty kayaks were found in the river Sunday afternoon, near Terra Cotta.

By Monday, police had launched an extensive search of the area, including the use of an underwater search and recovery unit.

From the air, police officers could be seen breaking pieces from the sheet of ice in the middle of the river, where the kayaks were lodged.

Police also used a small camera to look underneath the ice for signs of Sutherland.

Firth was a third-year English student at Guelph, while Sutherland is in his fourth year studying commerce.

With files from CTV Toronto