Body pulled from Sikome Lake
Posted Aug 13, 2014 12:18 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The search for a missing Calgary father may have come to a tragic end.
The Medical Examiner and dive teams have pulled a body from Sikome Lake.
Alberta Parks’ Jill Sawyer said the body was found at around noon Wednesday through the co-ordination of a HAWCS helicopter and crews in boats on the water.
“Immediately following that we called the fire department divers to come back in and EMS and the medical examiner,” she explained.
The family of 29-year-old Ali Shaikh were also on the banks of the lake.
Shaikh has been missing since Monday after the dingy he and his family was on capsized.
There will need to be a positive identification before officials can confirm if it is the body of the 29-year-old father.
Family members also showed up to the lake around 11:45 a.m., honking their horns to get the guards to let them into a cordoned off area.
Divers focused on the deepest part of the water, which is around two metres deep.
Randy Yates with Calgary Fire said visibility was a big problem during the search, but that changed on Wednesday.
“Because they circulate the water here, it takes a long time for it to settle, but we were lucky last night there were no winds so it was able to settle better,” he explained, adding weeds and grass were also a challenge.
He said with weeds and shadows, divers could be inches away from something and miss it.
As for the lake, it will remain closed indefinitely as an environmental assessment is done. There will also be a complete safety review, but Alberta Parks is optimistic the lake will open again before the end of summer.
