After nearly two weeks of searching, Saskatoon police have found the body of a jet ski rider who went missing on June 20.
In an update sent Friday morning, police said a deceased man was located on July 2 in the Rural Municipality of Corman Park, near the Clarkboro Ferry.
Police have tentatively identified him as 32-year-old Adan Vargas Salvador, pending confirmation through dental records.
“His family has been notified and the SPS Missing Persons Unit continues to be in contact with them,” police said.
“Our search here in Saskatoon [was] completed yesterday morning. [The] body was recovered north of the city near Warman. And we’re heading home,” the lead searcher with the Hutterian Emergency Aquatic Response Team (HEART), Manuel Mendel, said.
The nonprofit is based in Manitoba and specializes in underwater search and recovery operations involving drownings. It was deployed to Saskatoon on Wednesday to help with the search.
“It was not a very easy search. Searching close to the weir [was] very dangerous and for us to be able to have access to the boat ramp and work with ROV searching the deeper parts was very valuable to us,” Mendel said.
Saskatoon police and fire crews responded to a call around 4:45 p.m. on June 20 about a person operating a jet ski.
After crews attempted a rescue with specialized equipment, the operation transitioned from a rescue effort to a recovery effort the next day.
On June 23, Saskatoon police identified the missing person as Adan Vargas Salvador, a 32-year-old visitor from Mexico.
Salvador’s family said they are in Mexico, while he had been living in Saskatoon. Earlier in the search, the family provided a statement asking anyone with information regarding the incident to come forward.
The man went missing days after the city warned the public about higher-than-usual water levels in the South Saskatchewan River.
Typical flows are about 160 cubic metres per second. At the time of the incident, the flow rate was nearly double the average, at around 296 cubic metres per second.
The city reiterated its warning Thursday, asking residents to stay away from the river. It warned against all recreational activities on the river, including boating, paddling, swimming, floating and shoreline fishing.
The public boat launch beneath the Broadway Bridge and river access points in the Meewasin Valley will be closed as water flows are expected to increase on the river.
According to the Water Security Agency, river flows are expected to increase from about 270 cubic metres per second to about 770 cubic metres per second by July 6.
