CALEB NICKERSON
MANSFIELD ET PONTEFRACT Aug. 5, 2020
Emergency crews were kept busy last week following two separate incidents on the Coulonge River in Mansfield et Pontefract.
On Aug. 5 at 3:45 p.m., police received a call that a man had been swept away in . . .
some rapids in the section of the river near Lake Galarneau, roughly 45 kilometres north of Fort Coulonge. The victim, a 32 year-old Ontario man, was swimming in the river at the time and two bystanders were unable to rescue him from the fast-moving water.
A police helicopter was called to assist local fire departments in their search along the river and a dive team was brought in the following day.
Sûreté du Québec (SQ) spokesperson Sgt. Éloïse Cossette said that the divers called off their search on Saturday night, as they had done all they could to search the river.
“They’ve covered maybe 10 kilometres of area, what was physically possible for them to do has been done,” she said. “The specialized team quit but the search is going to take another form.”
At around 2 p.m. on Aug. 10, a body was spotted and recovered downstream from where the man was last seen with the help of a police helicopter. The press release from the SQ, put out just after 5 p.m. the same day stated that a coroner’s examination would be required to identify the body, but they are confident it is the man who was swept away on Aug. 5.
Woman found near Pont Blanc Beach
At 11:40 a.m. on Aug. 8, the SQ received a call after a woman was found unresponsive in the Coulonge River near the Pont Blanc Beach in Mansfield et Pontefract. She was transported to hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Police have identified the victim as 68-year-old Debra Wittenburg Lytle of Fort Coulonge.
