Manitoba RCMP said the body of one of the missing brothers who were swept into fast-moving water at a Manitoba provincial park has been located, and the search continues to find his brother.
Staff Sgt. Corey Meyers with the Lac du Bonnet RCMP said Maximo Au Ramizez, 10, was found by a civilian boat Wednesday evening near the shore of Nutimik Lake in Whiteshell Provincial Park.
Maximo, along with his 13-year-old brother Aaron, were swept into rapids at Sturgeon Falls on July 18. Investigators believe Maximo fell into the water first and Aaron went in after to rescue him. The boys went under the water and didn’t resurface.
“We’re still looking for Aaron,” Meyers said during a Friday news conference.
Meyers said Maximo’s body was found approximately 300 yards from Sturgeon Falls, and volunteers will be paying extra attention to the areas to find Aaron.
“Nothing in the lake is out of bounds,” he said.
In a statement from the boys’ parents, provided through Manitoba RCMP, they said they are going through “horrible and unimaginable pain for our children.
“What we have gone through is not humanly possible to understand. We are surviving only because of the help of those around us,” the statement reads.
“We have so much gratitude for the people who are helping. The help is so overwhelming that it is hard to understand how a community can be so strong for us and help us so much.”
The statement goes on to say that the support is sustaining the family during this time.
“We want to thank our family, friends, the countless volunteers, the RCMP, Allison and Harry at Nutimik Lodge, HEART, Pinewood Lodge, Turtle Island Aquatic Response, Submerged, Turtle Aquatic Response, our community of St. Emile—both the church and the school—as well as St. Andrew Bobola Catholic Church.”
Meyers said the drone unit, dive teams, the Hutterian Emergency Aquatic Response Team and various local volunteers remain on the lake searching.
Allison Baker-Thiessen, co-owner of Nutimik Lodge where the parents of the boys were staying, called for the wider community to help with the search for Aaron.
“We need lots of eyes out there on the water to help bring him home,” she said.
Province reviewing safety measures
Premier Wab Kinew called the incident “just heartbreaking,” speaking to media in a virtual news conference from Charlottetown, P.E.I., where he is attending the First Ministers’ meeting.
“This mind just races, and the heart fills with compassion for these boys and for their family and for everyone who knew them,” Kinew said.
A provincial spokesperson said in a statement that Manitoba Parks is reviewing safety measures in the area, noting that a number of warning signs and cautions are already posted there.
“Warnings include caution because of slippery or hidden rocks, strong current and steep drop-off,” the statement said.
The trail remains closed while the search continues.
With files from CTV’s Milan Lukes
