A missing man is presumed dead after he fell from a canoe late last night in Arrowhead Provincial Park, near Huntsville. It's only the latest drowning death to hit Ontario this month.
Ontario Provincial Police Const. Skeeter Kruger said he can't remember a more deadly week in the province's cottage country.
"The officers are taxed, emotionally and physically. There's nothing worse in an officer's day than doing a notification of next-of-kin," he said.
OPP said they were alerted to a missing camper last night just before 1 a.m., and determined that two men had ventured into Arrowhead Lake in a canoe.
Both men fell into the water but only one managed to swim back to shore.
Police say the missing man was "not a strong swimmer," and that "alcohol and not using any life jackets have contributed to this tragic camping trip in Muskoka."
Last Wednesday, two men from Illinois drowned at Bala Falls when they tried to reach a nine-year-old girl who had drifted from shore. The girl was wearing a life jacket and survived.
And last Sunday, three men drowned at the Moon River Falls when after a group of seven jumped into a rain-swollen river. One of them was visiting from Poland.
Yesterday, there were two boating accidents. One person, who was not wearing a life jacket, drowned when a boat tipped over on Lake Simcoe near Jackson's point.
In Lake Muskoka, a speedboat lost control, sending 33-year-old Phillip Morden into the water. He was pulled from the lake with no vital signs, resuscitated by paramedics, and remains in critical condition.
With a report by CTV Toronto's Ken Regular
