TORONTO -- Ontario Provincial Police officers say their search and recovery efforts for a nine-year-old boy who fell through a patch of ice on Lake Erie almost two weeks ago have come to an unsuccessful end.

During the afternoon of Feb. 15, emergency responders were called to Peacock Point, located about 50 kilometres south of Hamilton.

At the time, Const. Rodney LeClair said a nine-year-old boy and an eight-year-old boy were sitting on a patch of ice about 25 feet from the shoreline “when a wave came up and swept the two males into the water.”

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A 10-year-old girl, who was with the two boys, then ran to the roadway and was able to flag down two passersby. The male and female were able to pull the eight-year-old boy out of the water but the nine-year-old boy never resurfaced.

The 10-year-old girl is the sister of the missing boy, officials said.

The young boy has been identified by a family member as Alexander Ottley. He has been described by loved ones as a “hero” and “a brave boy.”

Poor weather conditions have caused significant delays in search and recovery efforts since the young boy fell through the ice.

rescue mission

After 11 days, officials said the search is complete.

“Despite extensive search of Lake Erie and shoreline, search and recovery efforts were unsuccessful,” police said on Tuesday night. “Search efforts are completed.”

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Officers said this was an “extremely difficult decision” for them to make.

Periodic aerial and shoreline searches will continue “in the future,” according to officials.