A teenager who was fishing Friday morning on the banks of the St. Lawrence River in Lanaudière, and who had been missing since, was found unconscious late in the afternoon.
The tragic event occurred in Saint-Ignace-de-Loyola, in the MRC D’Autray.
Around 4 p.m., Sûreté du Québec (SQ) divers recovered “the lifeless body of an individual who was transported to a hospital.” SQ spokesperson Camille Savoie said that “everything suggests that this is the teenager who was reported missing earlier today.”
The police were called to the scene around 8:15 a.m. As the fisherman was missing, the SQ deployed a large number of personnel to try to find him.
Nicolas Scholtus-Champagne, spokesperson for the SQ, listed that there was a helicopter team and the SQ nautical patrol on site working in collaboration with local fire departments as well as the Coast Guard.
The SQ’s emergency response unit was also activated. Foot patrol officers patrolled the banks accompanied by dog handlers.
“We are also working with members of the community who are on site and who could give us relevant information,” Agent Scholtus-Champagne had mentioned earlier in the day.
It is not yet known whether the young fisherman was wearing a life jacket.