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Dive teams continue to search for a 20-year-old man from Edmonton who went missing after an evening swim in Wabamun Lake Friday.
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Parkland County RCMP responded to the area of Kapasiwin, a summer village on the eastern shore of the lake, around 9 p.m. Friday evening to help search for a man who went missing.
The man was swimming near a boat when he became in distress and then didn’t surface, Cpl. Deanna Fontaine said to Postmedia. Parkland County firefighters also attended Friday evening to help search alongside the boaters as police officers searched along the shore.
After an unsuccessful 10-hour search Saturday, it resumed Sunday with the Central Alberta Recovery Dive Society and a police boat again out in the water looking for the man. Police are asking anyone on Wabamun Lake to give the teams room to work and to keep an eye out for the missing swimmer.
Reports of missing people on bodies of water in Alberta has been on the rise so far this summer, with RCMP noting 15 drownings in 2021 as of July 17. Last year, mounties responded to 18 drownings throughout the entire year and a total of 13 in 2019.
Police are reminding Albertans to be vigilant when it comes to water safety and ensure that everyone is aware of swimming capabilities before heading out on the water.
Last week, a 49-year-old father drowned in Wizard Lake after rescuing his nine-year-old son.
Kapasiwin is located about 69 kilometres east of Edmonton.
