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A man has been found dead after he went missing following a boating incident Saturday night, said Peel police.
First responders attended reports of a capsized canoe with a man and woman in distress at the Heart Lake Conservation area around 9:30 p.m. Saturday, said Tyler Bell-Morena with Peel Regional Police.
Bystanders at a nearby bonfire called emergency personnel and Brampton Fire arrived “in minutes,” he said at a news conference at the scene Sunday afternoon.
Crews rescued an adult woman in her mid-30s, who was transported to local hospital for further treatment, said Peel paramedics.
Rescuers searched “for several hours,” including with Peel police air support and thermal imaging to look for heat signatures in the area, but they were unable to locate the man overnight, said Bell-Morena.
He said underwater search and rescue teams on Sunday afternoon located the body of a man in his mid-30s, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
The conservation area is currently closed and it’s not yet boating season, so it’s unclear how the boaters got into the area and where they got the canoe from, said Bell-Morena.
Both individuals were not wearing a life jacket nor had any safety equipment on board, he said.
“Had it not been for the people on shore, we’d be recovering two people today [from the water],” said Bell-Morena.
While preliminary information doesn’t indicate a criminal case, Bell-Morena said police are treating the incident as suspicious. He said police are looking to answer several questions, including why the boaters were on the water so late at night and what caused the canoe to capsize.
The woman’s vehicle, found near the scene, has been seized by investigators, he said.
Given the “odd” circumstances, Bell-Morena said there will be a police presence in the area until a post mortem determines the man’s cause of death.
He urged anyone looking to get out on the water to have proper safety equipment and to wear life jackets when possible. The Heart Lake Conservation area is nearly 11 metres deep at its steepest point, said Bell-Morena.
