Drowning in Quetico Park

     This may sound harsh but here it goes anyway, another one bites the dust. I’m not sure what sort of medical emergency this man suffered while in his canoe but he would not have drown had he been wearing his life vest.  I wish people would wear their life vests, if not for themselves then for their paddling partners and family.

   

Man drowns in Quetico

A U.S. man drowned Monday evening while on a canoe trip through Quetico Provincial Park.
The victim was identified as Jacob Jones, 27, of Ruston, La.

The man suffering the medical emergency, who was not wearing a life jacket, could not be kept above water by his canoeing partner and drowned.

Police said the canoeing partner was forced to swim to shore. A second party fishing nearby heard calls for help and paddled over to provide assistance.

The parties then travelled together to the Prairie Portage Ranger Station on Tuesday morning to report the incident to park officials, who then called the OPP.

The incident occurred in the area of Carp Lake, located about 70 km south of Atikokan on the southern edge of Quetico Provincial Park.

There is limited access and no cellphone service in this area of the park.

A post-mortem examination was ordered by the Coroner’s Office, which was conducted Wednesday at Lake of the Woods District Hospital in Kenora.