OPP says two drowning victims were not wearing lifejackets

OPP divers have recovered the bodies of two overdue boaters on Bass Lake in Manitoulin.

On April 29, at 11:30 p.m., the Manitoulin Detachment of the OPP, the OPP Marine unit and the OPP Underwater Search and Recovery Unit (USRU) responded to a request from United Chiefs and Council of Manitoulin Anishnaabe Police Service (UCCM) for help in the search for two missing boaters.

A concerned family member called police when the two did not return to the Sheguiandah First Nation boat launch at the prearranged time of 9 p.m. They had left the boat launch three hours earlier in a canoe to go fishing.

"Investigation revealed that neither individual was wearing a floatation device," says a release.

One person was located along the shoreline. The second was located and retrieved by the USRU.

The deceased individuals were identified as a 28-year-old and a 29-year-old, both of Sheguiandah First Nation.

The Office of Chief Coroner and Ontario Forensic Pathology Service is assisting, and a post-mortem examination will take place in Sudbury.