Episode ten: The abyss

If you're planning a trip to the Ottawa Valley, you couldn't pick much better than a sunny day in spring.

The bugs aren't yet out, the trees are just beginning to bud, and the ice on the lakes has finally thawed.

Locals know a good day when they see one and how to take advantage of it — almost every vehicle on the road is a 4x4 pickup truck, with an ATV or canoe in the back — often both.

In that sense, the crew that climbed the rocky, rutted, sometimes washed out road to Holmes Lake on April 23 was no different.

However, once they arrived at the top and began to unload, it was clear that they didn't come to go fishing.

Dry suits and oxygen tanks were unloaded along with flippers and masks, bright-coloured lines and buoys.

The temperature was hovering around freezing that morning. Holmes Lake wasn't much warmer. But at least five members of this group were planning on going into the water.

The mood was one of nervous anticipation.

The excitement of what might be found below the surface was tempered by the inherent danger of any scuba dive — especially one in cold, unfamiliar waters with low visibility and lots of fallen trees.

Added to that apprehension was the bleak nature of their mission that day:

The divers would be conducting a search for the remains of five-year-old Adrien McNaughton, who disappeared during a family fishing trip to Holmes Lake in 1972.

Four cadaver dogs who had searched the area in the fall of 2015 had all made intriguing indications at the very same spot along the shore of the lake.

Could Adrien have slipped into the water and drowned that day?

Could his little body have remained undiscovered after thousands of volunteers — including three police divers — searched the area for weeks?

And if he is there, will Mike Grebler and his crew of highly trained volunteers be able to find him, nearly 44 years later?

​Someone Knows Something is an episodic series, best listened to in order. Click here to catch up on any episodes that you may have missed.

Show Notes

Scuba searching for human remains

The dive

9 years ago

Duration 2:38

When people drown or go missing near large bodies of water, highly-trained search divers are called in. It's a difficult and sometimes dangerous operation - and much harder when the search is for someone who disappeared more than 40 years ago.

Cadaver dog search

A topographical map of the area covered by the four cadaver dogs during their search of the Holmes Lake area.

Search dive

Priority areas for the April 23 search dive at Holmes Lake, and the sections covered by divers.