Skip to content

Two boaters found dead on Manitoulin Island lake

The deceased are both from Sheguiandah First Nation
OPP boat 1

The bodies of two boaters have been recovered from Bass Lake on Manitoulin Island.

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 assistance in the search for two missing boaters.

A concerned family member called police when the two individuals 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. The investigation revealed that neither individual was wearing a floatation device.

One individual was located along the shoreline. The second was located and retrieved by the Underwater Search and Recovery Unit.

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.