KENORA – Members of the Kenora Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police are again reminding the community of the dangers of thin ice. The warm weather means ice conditions are deteriorating quickly on all bodies of water in the area.
On Sunday, April 2, 2017 just before 10:00 pm members of the Kenora OPP Detachment received a report that two men had not checked in with family members since Saturday, April 1 around 4:15 pm. The men, both from Kenora were at a cabin on Brule Point on Lake of the Woods and were last heard of when they were fishing on ATV’s near 12 Mile Portage. Family had not heard from them and when friends went to check the cabin, it was determined they had not been there since Saturday. After receiving the report Sunday night, the OPP activated all available resources to start searching Monday morning, including the Marine and Trails Unit (MTU) Northwest Region Emergency Response Team, Lake of the Woods Search and Rescue and an OPP leased Helicopter.
On Monday, April 3, 2017 a civilian pilot assisting in the search located the men on Picture Rock Island, near Outer Bay. It was determined the men had gone through the ice near Picture Rock on Saturday evening after being in the water for some time they were able to make it to shore where they entered a cabin to seek shelter. Both men, ages 51 and 46 were uninjured.
The OPP would like to thank the members of the public for their assistance in this incident.
The OPP would like to remind people to stay off the ice this time of year as conditions will deteriorate quickly, even within a few hours.
