OPP searching for a man in Ottawa River

OPP searching for a man in Ottawa River

Last Friday, the Upper Ottawa Valley Ontario Provincial Police were dispatched to rapids on the Ottawa River in Whitewater Region Township after a male swimmer failed to return to shore. According to the official press release by the OPP, the missing 20-year-old man, from the Town of Petawawa, had entered the water earlier that evening with a second man from Petawawa. Both men became caught rapids on the Ottawa River adjacent to Grants Settlement Road and were swept away. The second man returned to shore and called for help.

Members of the OPP, Whitewater Region Fire Department, Garrison Petawawa Fire Department and Renfrew County Paramedics responded and were assisted in the initial search by local professionals in the whitewater rafting community. The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) was notified and two helicopters with Forward-Looking Infrared (FLIR) technology were deployed to the area to assist in the search at the time but were met with negative results. The search continued on Saturday and Sunday June 23 and 24, 2018 with the assistance of the OPP helicopter and OPP’s Underwater Search and Recovery Unit (USRU). Thus far the search has met with negative results.
(June 25, 2018).