Missing men's bodies found near boat
The difference between life and death was life jackets,' OPP officer says of drownings in Rice Lake
Car carrying distraught family members involved in highway accident in the Peterborough area
May 23, 2006. 05:30 AM
STEVE RENNIE
STAFF REPORTER
HARWOOD, ONT.—First, there was hope that two men missing since their motorboat sank beneath the icy waves of Rice Lake Sunday would be reunited with family waiting in a cabin at the Golden Beach Resort here.
But as two OPP rescue boats slowly cut a swath through the choppy water on their way back to the resort, Const. Fernando Ham-Chi of the Northumberland OPP said relatives of Albert Chow and Duy Lunong Diep knew it would not be the news they'd hoped to hear.
"Earlier, when the rescue was going on, they kept looking out the windows, looking in the direction of the rescue," said Ham-Chi, who was with the families in the cabin yesterday.
"But they kind of suspected when the boats came back that something had happened. There was quite a bit of crying, hugging each other."
Shortly before noon yesterday, OPP divers recovered the bodies of Chow, 51, of Stouffville, and Diep, 54, of Richmond Hill, about eight metres from their submerged boat.
The men had been part of a group of seven out for an afternoon of fishing Sunday on the lake, which is located about 150 kilometres northeast of Toronto. But the afternoon turned tragic when high waves flooded their 18-foot fibreglass motorboat.
Four people — two men and two women — managed to swim to shore after the boat capsized. The body of another, Holland Chow, 54, of Richmond Hill, was found Sunday night.
The names of the four survivors, who were treated at a hospital in Cobourg, were not released.
Police said the boat was equipped with enough life vests for all the occupants, but added not all seven passengers were wearing them. OPP Staff Sgt. Doug Borton said the four survivors were all wearing life vests. The three men who drowned were not.
"The difference between life and death was life jackets," he said, adding that police are investigating whether the number of people in the boat was a factor in its sinking.
Two family members of one of the drowned men watched quietly from the shore as the dive team unloaded the bodies into the coroner's van. Another man, whom police also identified as family, wailed loudly at the sight of the bodies. Borton tried to comfort the man by placing a hand on his shoulder and leading him to a waiting police cruiser, where he was taken to one of the four cabins where the family was staying.
Golden Beach Resort owner Kelly Lang said four families and a host of friends had checked in on Friday. Borton later said some members of the group had previously stayed at the resort.
Ham-Chi said family and friends rushed to the resort to help with the search. However, a car carrying distraught family members was involved in a two-vehicle crash around 8:30 a.m. on Highway 9 at Ganaraska Rd. in the Peterborough area.
One man was taken to a hospital in Cobourg with non-life-threatening injuries.
Yesterday's bitterly cold weather was only slightly better than Sunday's. Many of the resort guests reported high winds and hail on Sunday, and wondered why anyone would venture onto the lake in such treacherous conditions.
"There's no way I would have gone out yesterday," said Ryan Ross, who stayed at the resort over the weekend. "I wouldn't even take the chance."
Police focused their search on the area between Curtis Point and the Golden Beach Resort, the widest part of the lake.
Two life jackets, one orange and one red, were visible on the shore near Idylwilde Point, where the survivors came ashore. About 9 metres from the point, the nose of the sunken motorboat jutted out from the lake's surface. Police estimated that part of the lake is about 3 to 3.5 metres deep.
Borton said the boat, which has the words "Four Winns" written on its side, belonged to one of the men who drowned.
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I always have my life jacket within arms reach at all times.