4 teens found after going missing while tubing near Manitoba-Sask. border
Posted July 30, 2024 6:36 pm.
The Manitoba RCMP says four teens had to be rescued from the Shell River, north of Inglis roughly 370 kilometers northwest of Winnipeg, after they were reported missing over the weekend.
Around 11:50 p.m. Sunday, the RCMP in Prairie Mountain received a report that four teens — three girls and one boy between the ages of 16 and 17 — had gone tubing down the river without telling anyone, and had not returned.
During a search, Mounties found a vehicle belonging to one of the teens at Inglis Beach, and another teen’s vehicle was located at a bridge on Provincial Road 589. It is believed that the teens set off from the bridge and were expecting to arrive at Inglis Beach.
The RCMP, with the help of the local fire department, local crop planes, and farmers on ATVs, began searching along the river for any signs of the teens.
Around 4 a.m., an RCMP drone using thermal imaging was able to find three of the teens uninjured along the river. The fourth teen, a 16-year-old, however, was still missing.
The drone continued scanning the area and found a deflated flamingo tube that the teen had been using, about a kilometer away from the other teens.
After this, a crop duster went back into the air, and police and fire began a targeted search in that area.
Around 9:30 a.m. Monday, as officers drove in the area with sirens on, the fourth teen was found coming out of a bush. She reportedly had suffered minor injuries and was taken to hospital.
“This ended much better than it could have,” said Corp. Brett Church of the Prairie Mountain RCMP. “If you are heading out on the water, you need to tell someone where you are going to be and the route you plan to take. It is also important to recognize that water is unpredictable and that a floatie is not a life jacket; a floatie will not save your life if you get into trouble on the water. Please be careful out there.”
The RCMP say none of the teens were wearing life jackets or personal floatation devices at the time. It is also believed alcohol was involved.
