On Monday, August 18th at 11:05 A.M., the body of a 15 year old youth was located and recovered in the Peace River and shortly afterwards at 1:20 P.M. the body of a 16 year old youth was located. All 3 bodies have now been recovered and the deaths were an accidental drowning. None of the youths were wearing life jackets and the bodies were recovered approx. 50 feet from the incident location. Fort Vermilion RCMP will not be releasing the names of the 3 deceased youths.
Fort Vermilion RCMP would like to thank the community of Fox Lake, La Crete and Fort Vermilion FIRE, Search and Rescue Volunteers, Canadian Rangers, Alberta Fish and Wildlife, Alberta Sustainable Resources Department (SRD) and numerous others individuals that volunteered their time to assist the RCMP in this incident.
Previous News Release:
Officers searching for three youths in the Peace River
Fort Vermillion, Alberta – On Friday August 15, 2014 at 8:00 p.m., North Peace Tribal Police Services ( NPTPS ) of the Fox Lake First Nations and the Fort Vermillion RCMP officers responded to a call of three local male youths, aged 14, 15 & 16 years old, reported missing while swimming in the Peace River which runs adjacent to the community.
Initial investigation by NPTPS and RCMP indicates that the three youths were out for a family swim and were swimming near the edge of a shallow area of water. It appears a strong “Eddy” current may have caught the unsuspecting youths and all were drawn down into the river. Despite valiant efforts by bystanders the youth were not rescued.
The Fort Vermilion RCMP, NPTPS , local fire and rescue, Canadian Rangers, Alberta Sustainable Resource Department and community members have been patrolling the river, trying to recover the youths bodies since early Saturday morning. The body of the 14-year-old youth was recovered at 6:00 p.m. in proximity to the location where he had gone under. The remaining two youths have yet to be located. Alcohol was not a factor in this incident. The recovery effort is continuing with shoreline, water and air patrols.