(Trois-Rivières) The body of the kayaker who had been missing since last Thursday in Trois-Rivières was finally found Tuesday afternoon in the St. Lawrence River, police authorities confirmed in the evening.
Pierre Couture, a 65-year-old experienced kayaker, had been missing since last Thursday. He had launched his kayak into the water from the ramp at the Le Maïkan outdoor center around 1:30 p.m., but his family had not heard from him since that time.
Intensive searches took place over the last few days to locate him, including boats, two drones and the Sûreté du Québec helicopter, but they only found his kayak.
Tuesday, around 4:30 p.m., it was finally a citizen who was in his own boat who spotted an inanimate body in the St. Lawrence River near Lotbinière.
“It was recovered by Sûreté du Québec patrol officers from the Lotbinière station, where they quickly noted that there was a strong possibility that it could be the kayaker who went missing in Trois-Rivières” , explained the Trois-Rivières police in a press release.
“Currently, we are able to confirm that it is indeed the body of Mr. Pierre Couture, in particular by the clothing which corresponds to the last video recordings of the victim, before he was put in the water. The investigation will continue to try to determine the exact causes and circumstances leading to the death of the experienced kayaker,” we added.
Mr. Couture used to paddle up to the KI-8-EB golf club, on the Saint-Maurice River, and go back down to La Potherie Island.