SQ divers search for missing boater after crash south of Maniwaki
Boat’s operator arrested after hitting rock in Lac des Trente et un Milles
The Sûreté du Québec is searching for a missing 20-year-old woman south of Maniwaki, Que., after the boat she was on hit a rock late Monday night.
The woman was one of four people in the boat on Lac des Trente et un Milles, approximately 130 kilometres north of Ottawa.
Three of the four passengers made it to the shore after the collision at about 11 p.m., police said, but the unidentified woman didn't reappear.
The person operating the boat was arrested. No charges have been announced.
Police say none of the four people on the boat were wearing life jackets. The three others suffered minor injuries.
Dive crews continued to search the lake as of early Tuesday afternoon. Collision investigators and an ambulance were also sent to the lake.
Neighbour awoken by police
Rick Lambert, who owns a cottage on the lake, says he noticed a boat without its light on, travelling on the northern side of the lake near the shoreline at 11:30 p.m. The boat appeared to have a spotlight with it.
"There were a lot of frantic voices," the seasonal cottager said. "And they were pointing at the shore and looking at the shore, shining up and down."
"... I made a comment to my wife, you know, I found it odd. And they had to be aware of the point over there," he said, waving his hand to the shoreline.
At approximately 2 a.m., Lambert woke to lights from police vehicles shining through his window.
Still, only when his daughter texted him later, asking if he was OK, did he realize something had gone wrong.
Lambert said the crash hasn't coloured his perception of the lake, but added that it's important to know where certain rocks sit in the water.
"It's completely safe. I've never, ever heard of any other incidents before in the bay," he said.
2nd possible drowning
This was the second drowning investigation by Sûreté du Québec in the region on Monday, the same day Quebecers were warned about an increase in drownings compared to this time last year.
A man in his 70s drowned Monday morning in an in-ground residential swimming pool in Montebello, Que., east of Gatineau.
According to police, the man was possibly doing work on the pool on St-Hyacinthe Road at the time. An investigation is ongoing.
With files from Radio-Canada's Nicole Chiasson and Stéphane Leclerc
