‘Tragic event’: Search for missing boater in Lake Ontario now a recovery effort

Crime analyst Steve Ryan speaks with Toronto police marine unit officials about the recovery effort for a man who went overboard in Lake Ontario.

The search for a man who went missing Wednesday after a small inflatable boat capsized on Lake Ontario near Cherry Beach is now a recovery mission.

Toronto police provided an update on their operations on Thursday, saying the marine unit is using a dive team, as well as underwater equipment such as side-scan sonar and an underwater remote operated vehicle, to locate the man.

“I can confirm that the status of this search has officially changed from a rescue operation to a recovery underwater search,” Insp. Errol Watson told reporters on Thursday.

Emergency crews responded to the vicinity of Cherry Beach, which is near Unwin Avenue and Cherry Street, at 1:45 p.m. on Wednesday after reports that a small inflatable boat began losing air and was sinking.

“Initial information indicated there were two adult males in the water without life jackets and struggling to swim. Marine unit officers attended and were met by a civilian vessel that had recovered one male and a dog from the water,” Watson said.

The rescued man, believed to be in his 40s, was then taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Officers then learned that a second man was unaccounted for and “was believed to be below the surface,” Watson said.

“The search for the missing adult male continued all afternoon and evening with the use of marine boats and an underwater drone. Last night, when darkness fell, the search was suspended for safety reasons,” he added.

Watson did not have information about the relationship between the two men.

“We realize this is a tragic event, and our thoughts are with those who have been impacted,” Watson said.

“We want to recognize the quick action taken by the citizen who saw these boaters in need of assistance and immediately came to their aid, and without that, the situation could have very likely ended with a more tragic outcome instead of the rescue of one person.”

Caller was huge help

Const. Stacy Kellough with the Marine Unit was one of the officers who responded to the incident.

She said the citizen who made the call was a huge help, providing them with information on where exactly the boat and the men were.

“They appeared to be pumping water from this inflatable dinghy, and, as well as one, the other guy paddling,” Kellough said, recounting what the caller told police.

She noted that the marine unit was at the scene “within minutes.”

When they arrived, the caller, who had lifeguarding experience, had already pulled one man out of the water. Kellough said the man was “exhausted hanging on to the dinghy.”

She described the winds on Wednesday as a “little rougher,” and that’s why the boaters struggled.

“Any wind when you go out on a dinghy from Cherry Beach, you get out a little far, and the wind will take you,” Kellough said.

She noted that there was one life jacket in the vessel, but it was never worn. Kellough added that the boat lacked the required safety equipment.

“That’s the huge message here is to have your life jacket on when you’re operating on Lake Ontario,” Kellough said.