Winnipeg divers again search for boy's body

Police divers are heading back into Winnipeg's Red River, continuing the search for the body of six-year-old Nathaniel Thorassie.

The dive team — consisting of members from the Winnipeg Police Service, the Winnipeg Fire Department and the Canadian Amphibious Search Team (CAST) — is set up on the ice near the Disraeli Bridge, using sonar equipment on loan from a Vancouver company. 

The equipment is used to identify potential dive targets on the river's floor.

Sgt. Rob Riffel, the head of the Winnipeg Police Service dive unit, said the images are also being shared with Nathaniel's mother, Mclain Flett.

"We're trying to keep her, you know, in the loop of everything that we're doing. We've assured her that we're going to exhaust possible hope of bringing Nathaniel home [before the search ends]," Riffel said.

The boy was playing on the ice and fell into the river on Dec. 4. Police and volunteer divers searched for his body over several days last month but were unsuccessful.

When the ice conditions were deemed too treacherous, the search was called off.

Volunteer divers from CAST and the Manitoba Search and Rescue Association (MSRA) then went into the water and searched over a couple of days but also failed to find Thorassie.

The police dive unit teamed with CAST members to resume the search on Dec. 21 then went back in again on Jan. 2.

Nathaniel was with his brother Ralph Chartrand, 10, when they both fell through the ice. Chartrand was rescued by a passerby, but Nathaniel could not be found.