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Bodies of 2 missing Manitoulin boaters recovered from Bass Lake

Search began after the pair did not return from a fishing trip on April 29
2021-04-15 OPP Marine Unit DMH
OPP Marine Unit file photo

NEWS RELEASE
ONTARIO PROVINCIAL POLICE
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NORTHEASTERN MANITOULIN AND THE ISLANDS - The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) has recovered the bodies of two overdue boaters on Bass Lake in Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands.

On April 29, 2023 at 11:30 p.m., the Manitoulin Detachment of the OPP, the OPP Marine unit and the OPP Underwater Search and Recovery Unit (USRU) responded to a request from United Chiefs and Council of Manitoulin Anishnaabe Police Service (UCCM) for assistance in the search for two missing boaters.

A concerned family member called police when the two individuals did not return to the Sheguiandah First Nation boat launch at the prearranged time of 9 p.m. They had left the boat launch three hours earlier in a canoe to go fishing. Investigation revealed that neither individual was wearing a floatation device.

One individual was located along the shoreline. The second was located and retrieved by the USRU.

The deceased individuals were identified as a 28-year-old and a 29-year-old, both of Sheguiandah First Nation.

The Office of Chief Coroner and Ontario Forensic Pathology Service is assisting, and a post-mortem examination will take place in Sudbury.

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