Search for those swept away by Ontario floodwaters during storm comes up empty
In the wake of Tropical Storm Barry, Search Canada has sent a crew to search a river in Eastern Ontario. The search crew recently uncovered a body of water in Etobicoke that has yet to receive a body of water search number. (Submitted by Search Canada)
With the help of a GPS chip from an aircraft, a Search Canada team searched a river and other flood-affected areas in Eastern Ontario on March 13, 2019. (Submitted by Search Canada)
Search Canada, along with other volunteers, spent days searching flooded roads and fields in Eastern Ontario, but the team never found a missing hiker.
As the rain finally stopped, the Search Canada crew spent the next day combing through debris in a lake and a river, taking pictures and videos but no clues remained to locate the missing hiker.
“We just kept going. We just looked for any type of clue that we could find. We didn’t think that one final piece of information would bring them down,” said Search Canada Assistant Director, Chris Brown.
On Monday, Search Canada was back to the lake to search the flooded areas that have so far gone unclaimed.
The new missing hiker is a Toronto woman, who has been missing since Thursday afternoon, March 11, 2019.
“When you’re dealing with flooding, you can’t expect to find someone. There’s no way. And I think her family is heartbroken,” said Brown. “When you’re dealing with a situation like this, you’re hopeful. But at the same time, what if you’re not going to find her?”
Search Canada’s new missing hiker is a Toronto woman, who has been missing since Thursday afternoon. (Submitted by Search Canada)
The search team was searching for the missing hiker in a body of water on Highway 401, about 60 kilometres east of Toronto and 25 kilometres northeast of Hamilton. The area is part of a 100-day weather forecast that predicted a storm on Wednesday and a possible tropical storm on Friday, March 14, 2019.
“We’re very well prepared to deal with the weather elements