'We need funding': Alberta's lone volunteer underwater search team asks for support to bring closure to families
The volunteer underwater search team that responds to drownings all across Alberta is concerned it won't be able to survive without funding from the provincial government.
The Underwater Search Team responded to 19 calls in 2021 and seven so far this summer, including the death of a 14-year-old Edmonton boy in a Whitecourt, Alta., pond last Sunday.
August is typically its busiest month, and the president of the group is worried they'll be needed again this weekend as the warm weather continues in Alberta.
"The fear is that with the heat and high temperatures, I think a lot of people will be trying to get out to the lakes and I fear that we might be called out again. It would be lovely if we're not," Luke Jevne told CTV News Edmonton in Millet on Wednesday.
"I hope people play it safe, wear life jackets, take precautions and come home. That's the number one job: come home."
The Underwater Search Team has 12 volunteers, and at least four are needed per recovery mission.
They don't get paid and all the equipment is personally funded. Jevne — who hasn't been to his paying job in nearly a month while he's responded to five calls — estimates he's spent $15,000 on gear and another $15,000 on training.
He called it a "very expensive passion," but he does it to bring closure to families who've lost loved ones in drownings.
"I'm happy to do what I've done but it comes at a very big cost," he said.
"I've talked to an MLA and an MP, and again they were shocked that there's no funding for us or that we're not a full-time dive team and that's as far as it's gone."
CTV News reached out to the provincial government for comment but has not heard back.
To donate to the Underwater Search Team, click here.
"Financially and timewise, I don't know how we can make this continue. It's taken a lot of toll, not just on the bank account but the time away from family and work," Jevne said.
"We need funding."
With files from CTV News Edmonton's David Ewasuk
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
LeBlanc says he plans to run in next election, under Trudeau's leadership
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to run in the next election as a candidate under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership, amid questions about his rumoured interest in succeeding his longtime friend for the top job.
Sports columnist apologizes for 'oafish' comments directed at Caitlin Clark. The controversy isn’t over
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball’s highest scorer Caitlin Clark’s first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
Health Canada to change sperm donor screening rules for men who have sex with men
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
U.S. vetoes a widely supported UN resolution backing full membership for Palestine
The United States has vetoed a widely backed UN resolution that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for the state of Palestine.
Bayer recalls hydraSense baby product over 'potential contamination'
Bayer announced Thursday it is recalling two lots of its hydraSense Baby Nasal Care Easydose due to a potential contamination.
N.L. gardening store revives 19th century seed-packing machine
Technology from the 19th century has been brought out of retirement at a Newfoundland gardening store, as staff look for all the help they can get to fill orders during a busy season.
Cat found on Toronto Pearson airport runway 3 days after going missing
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Grandparent scam suspects had ties to Italian organized crime, police allege
A group of suspects that allegedly defrauded seniors across Ontario and other parts of Canada using a so-called emergency grandparent scam appear to have ties to 'Italian traditional organized crime,' according to an investigator involved in the OPP-led probe.