A boating trip on Lake Manitoba ended in tragedy after two men from Sandy Bay First Nation became stranded and attempted to swim to shore.
Yesterday evening, around 8:00 p.m., RCMP responded to a call from the Sandy Bay Fire Department after a boat malfunction left two men, a 41-year-old and a 22-year-old, stranded on the lake. The pair had launched their boat earlier that day from behind the community's water treatment plant.
Strong winds prevented emergency crews from launching a rescue boat. Shortly after, a beachgoer witnessed the two men in the water, trying to swim back to shore. They were last seen approximately 200 meters from land, southeast of Halls Beach. Neither man was wearing a life jacket.
Multiple agencies, including the Manitoba and Saskatchewan RCMP Underwater Recovery Teams, the Manitoba First Nation Police Service, and the Sandy Bay Fire Department, joined the search efforts.
The body of the 22-year-old man was found onshore around 9:00 a.m. this morning.
The search for the 41-year-old man continues.