Emergency responders in Calgary are joining forces to locate missing people through ground and air searches along the Bow River starting Saturday.
The search began at 9 a.m. at the Fish Creek Provincial Park boat launch to the south.
The Calgary Police Service, Calgary Fire Department, RCMP, Calgary Search and Rescue Association, Cochrane Fire Services, Alberta Forestry and Parks and Community Safety Peace Officers are working together to search the Bow River.
Police say they will use HAWCS helicopters and remotely piloted aircraft systems to conduct an aerial search. Everyone else, including police, will conduct ground and water searches on the Bow River and surrounding banks.
The RCMP and Alberta Forestry and Parks are expected to assist with the search outside Calgary city limits.
CPS search manager and acting staff sergeant Sgt. Paul Teworte tells CityNews crews they are conducting the search from Stoney Trail at the north end of the Bow River to Carseland at the south end outside of town.
“The Bow River was chosen because it is the main river for the Calgary area and we have already found missing people in the river,” he said.
According to Teworte, the current has also brought missing people or bodies at the south end.
“Unfortunately, it is a tragic reality that some of our most missing individuals may have ended up in our city's waterway,” Sgt. Amy George of the CPS Missing Persons Team said in a news release.
“As a police service, we have incredibly skilled investigators and searchers, and we are committed to using our resources to find answers for the family of a missing person.”
While officers and firefighters monitor the river regularly throughout the year, police say water conditions are ideal for this type of work because the river is at its lowest and clearest.
So far this year, 3,572 people have been reported missing in Calgary. According to police, most of them have been found, but 0.17 percent remain missing.
“Fortunately, the vast majority of missing people are found unharmed. However, there are some who cannot be located and we want to do our best to try to locate those people,” Teworte said.
“And we know that the river could be one of the places where a missing person is found. That’s why we want to make this effort before winter to find anyone who may be on the river.”
If the weather is not ideal for an air search, the search will continue on the ground and in the water, the police said.
When it comes to missing indigenous people, Teworte says there is a proportionate over-representation and efforts are being made to locate them.
“Part of our commitment to finding all people, including Indigenous missing persons, is to search the river and make the greatest effort possible to try to find people wherever they are,” he said.
If remains are found within or outside city limits, police say partners will work with the chief medical examiner's office to identify the person and “ensure that no crime has been committed.”
With files from Carlene Sorenson
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