‘Father did not resurface’ after pushing daughter to shore in Lake Erie

Elgin OPP and the Canadian Coast Guard searching Lake Erie off the shores of Port Burwell Provincial Park for a missing swimmer on Sunday June 22, 2025.(Brent Lale/CTV News London)

Port Burwell Provincial Park Beach is closed as Elgin OPP and the Canadian Coast Guard conduct a joint marine search off the beach.

Sunday afternoon, a father and daughter were swimming when they started to struggle. One swimmer, a young teenage girl according to witnesses, was able to be rescued, however her father did not resurface.

“She was in a panic, and everybody was looking for him,” says Alida Cordeiro, a mother and former lifeguard who was on the beach at the time.

“There was a lot of shock, and they couldn’t contact family members that were still not at the beach or at home. It was a really, scary situation.”

According to Cordeiro, the girl was looking for her phone after getting out of the water to call for help. Another witness said the father helped push her toward shore before going under.

“It breaks my heart,” Cordeiro added. “I’m here with my kids and my husband was here, and we’re probably the same age.”

Late in the afternoon, OPP cleared the public from the beach, which is marked with signs indicating there is no lifeguards.

They had a pair of boats in the water, and both Bayham fire and Central Elgin Fire had drones in the air.

“We are just assisting Bayham (fire) with the drone to try and see if we can see anything from the air and anything more than what they’re seeing from the boats and from the shore,” said Murray DeCorte, district chief of Central Elgin Fire Rescue.

Decorte had a busy day as he arrived in Port Burwell after an earlier rescue call.

“Down in Port Stanley, there was near drownings,” said DeCorte. “They were taking in a lot of water, but lifeguards were doing some training and they got them to safety. Then along with fire as well, they got them out and got them into EMS’ hands, taking them both to hospital.”

The combination of really hot weather, and high winds was a recipe for disaster.

“The waves are really, really big,” said Cordeiro. “When we got here today earlier this morning [the waves] were about a good solid metre and a half, and I noticed that the water was really cold. It’s a bad mix for people going out there getting too cold and then getting extra tired. Where when the waves are warm, people can swim out there longer without getting as tired.”

Decorte echoed that sentiment, “With the water not being warm yet, it’s hard to swim in,” he said. “So maybe that played some of the part too in the waves.”

Early in the evening, OPP brought ATVs to use on the long stretch of beach as the search continues.