Monday, July 17, 2006

MANITOULIN WOMAN RESCUED AFTER 12 HOURS FLOATING IN NORTH CHANNEL

(North Channel, Manitoulin Island, Ont.) – On Sunday 16 July 2006 at 3:20 pm Manitoulin OPP were notified that a boater operating in the North Channel had located a partially submerged canoe floating in the water. They retrieved the canoe and immediately contacted police.

Through initial investigation it was learned that another vessel had spoke with a lone female and her 3 year old German Sheppard dog operating a canoe in the Kagawong area where she was camping. A search of the area was immediately conducted involving two OPP marine boats, the OPP helicopter and a helicopter from the Canadian Rescue Coordination Center in Trenton, Ontario.

Officers combed the area where the canoe was found drifting in the North Channel. Off duty OPP Constable Robert Manley had been boating on the North Channel the day before and had spotted the woman and her dog and canoe camping on the east shore of Clapperton Island 20 kms west of Little Current. He managed to save the GPS coordinates on his GPS equipment. When he learned of the search on the Sunday evening he notified the officers what he had seen the day before. He was able to give the GPS coordinates and from that information with the assistance of RCC Trenton a grid search was conducted of the area. Shortly there after the rescue helicopter spotted the woman clutching her dog floating in the North Channel some 15 kms from where she was camping. She was rescued by the OPP vessel, she was found alive and suffering from hypothermia along with her dog that she was still holding onto. She was rushed to the Manitoulin Health Center for treatment. Both her and her dog are to make a full recovery.

Through investigation it was learned that she was canoeing in the North Channel when on Sunday morning a freak Thunder and Windstorm blew up and capsized the canoe throwing her and her dog into the North Channel. With the winds it blew out into the middle of the channel where she held onto her dog she was wearing a life jacket. She was floating some 12 hours before being rescued.

OPP are crediting many people factors in her rescue, her life jacket, her dog her kept her warm, the boaters that found the canoe and supplied information, Constable Manley for his observation the day before and of course the Rescue members of RCC Trenton and the OPP officers on the marine unit.

The woman has been identified as Tish SMITH age 41 of Evansville, Ontario on Manitoulin Island. She is expected to make a full recovery.


Highway 17 \Has Been Re-Opened

(White River, Ont.) Highway 17 at White River has been re-opened. The highway was closed at 8:15 p.m. last night to allow for the Technical Collision Investigation into the crash that claimed five lives on the Trans Canada Highway 17, 6 km. south of White River.

Two vehicles were involved in the collision. .

Fatal Collision

(White River, Ontario) Five persons are confirmed dead following a collision, which occurred at approximately 8 PM on Highway 17, 6 km east of White River.

An Eastbound vehicle carrying 3 occupants lost control and struck a westbound vehicle carrying 2 people. The 3 persons in the eastbound vehicle as well as 1 person from the westbound vehicle were pronounced dead at the scene. The fifth person in the collision died while en route to the hospital.

Superior East OPP and Technical Traffic Accident investigators are still at the scene of the accident and Highway 17 remains closed at this time.

The conditions were clear and the road was dry at the time of the accident.

No names are being released at this time pending notification of next of kin.