Northern Alberta search and rescue crews looking for missing canoer

RCMP officers are searching the Athabasca River in northeast Alberta for a missing canoer last seen around 12:15 p.m. on Saturday.
According to Mounties, a group of six canoers and a kayaker were on the Ells River, north of Fort MacKay, Alta., and near Daphne Island, for around an hour when the group lost sight of a pair of canoers together in a red 16-foot canoe.
Wood Buffalo RCMP conducted a boat and aerial search with the assistance of Fort McMurray Search and Rescue, Fort McMurray EMS, the Helicopter Emergency Response Organization (HERO), and Syncrude Search and Rescue. Area community members completed additional ground searches.
At 4:15 p.m., searchers located the over-turned red canoe and the body of one of the missing boaters, an 80-year-old man, police said.
The search continues for the other canoer, a 45-year-old man. Both of the boaters in the red canoe were from Fort McMurray.
"Search efforts are continuing with the support of Civil Air Search and Rescue (CASARA) from Edmonton and the RCMP Air Service to search for the other missing boater," police said in a statement Monday.
According to Cst. Patrick Lambert, the search area has been expanded by 100 kilometres and now includes sections of the Athabasca River due to the current and higher river levels.
Police are asking anyone on the river to make room for search teams and be aware of any signs of the missing boater, who was wearing an orange personal floatation device.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Wood Buffalo RCMP at 780-788-4040 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. Tips can also be submitted online.
Fort MacKay is approximately 54 kilometres north of Fort McMurray.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
2 suspects killed, 6 police officers injured in shooting at bank in Saanich, B.C.
Six police officers are in hospital with gunshot wounds and two suspects have been killed following a shooting at a bank in Saanich, B.C., on Tuesday.

Trump told officials to 'let my people in' and march to Capitol on Jan. 6, former aide testifies
Donald Trump rebuffed his own security's warnings about armed protesters in the Jan. 6 rally crowd and made desperate attempts to join his supporters as they marched to the Capitol, according to dramatic new testimony Tuesday before the House committee investigating the 2021 insurrection.
Who is Cassidy Hutchinson, the Meadows aide testifying before U.S. Congress?
The top aide to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows who is testifying before the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot was a young, fast-rising star in the Trump administration.
B.C. Premier Horgan announces he will step down
After five years in the role, John Horgan announced on Tuesday afternoon he plans to step down as premier of British Columbia and has asked his governing party, the NDP, to hold a leadership convention later this year.
Ghislaine Maxwell sentenced to 20 years for helping Epstein
Ghislaine Maxwell, the jet-setting socialite who once consorted with royals, presidents and billionaires, was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in prison for helping the financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse underage girls.
RCMP official: Lucki claimed direct pressure from federal minister to name guns
A scathing letter from an RCMP communications manager released today says RCMP Commissioner Brenda Lucki referred to direct pressure from the federal public safety minister to release firearm details in the days after the Nova Scotia mass shooting.
Liberals to release cabinet documents to Emergencies Act inquiry
The federal Liberal government has agreed to provide sensitive cabinet documents to the inquiry examining its use of the Emergencies Act during the "Freedom Convoy" protest.
Ontario should declare intimate partner violence an epidemic, inquest jury says
A jury at a coroner's inquest into the deaths of three women murdered by their former partner is recommending that Ontario formally declare intimate partner violence an epidemic and establish an independent commission dedicated to eradicating it.
Risk of shingles rises after COVID-19 infection: study
Adults over 50 who have had COVID-19 are more likely to experience a shingles outbreak, according to a study published in May.