The body of a 23-year-old man who went missing after his canoe capsized in Lake Couchiching Tuesday has not yet been found.
Cold temperatures hampered the efforts of OPP divers Wednesday.
“Unfortunately the ice conditions firmed up overnight,” said Const. Peter Leon of OPP Central Region. The divers who arrived at about 10 a.m. Wednesday determined it was not safe to enter the water.
“The search and rescue unit did an assessment and there was a lot of floating slush that froze overnight,” Leon said.
“They can’t go breaking through the ice,” Leon said. In addition, the frozen chunky ice also offers very little visibility.
The OPP helicopter did an aerial search of the Cumberland Beach area where the canoe was found Tuesday but did not spot anyone, Leon said.
Leon said milder conditions are expected, at which time divers can enter the shallow water near the shore where they expect to find the man. If it remains cold, the lake will continue to freeze over.
On Tuesday, divers arrived on the scene at about 1 p.m. and searched until just before 6 p.m. using side scan sonar without result.
A 13-year-old boy who was also in the canoe died after being pulled alive from Lake Couchiching Tuesday morning
