Calgary emergency crews to work together to search Bow River for missing persons

Emergency crews in Calgary are joining forces to locate missing people through ground and aerial searches along the Bow River starting Saturday.

The search began at 9 a.m. at the Fish Creek Provincial Park boat launch in the south.

The Calgary Police Service, Calgary Fire Department, RCMP, Calgary Search and Rescue Association, Cochrane Fire Services, Alberta Forestry and Parks, and Community Safety Peace Officers are collaborating to search the Bow River.

Police say they will use HAWCS helicopter and remotely piloted aircraft systems to conduct an aerial search. Ground and water searches of the Bow River and surrounding banks will be carried out by everyone else, including police.

The RCMP and Alberta Forestry and Parks are expected to assist with searches outside Calgary’s city limits.

CPS search manager and Acting Staff Sgt. Paul Teworte tells CityNews crews are conducting the search from Stoney Trail on the north end of the Bow River to Carseland on the south end outside the city.

“The Bow River was selected because it is the main river for the Calgary area, and we have found missing persons in the river before,” he said.

Teworte says the current has carried missing persons or bodies on the south end as well.

“Unfortunately, it is a tragic reality that some of our outstanding missing persons may have entered our city’s waterway,” said Sgt. Amy George of the CPS Missing Persons Team in a news release.

“As a police service, we have incredibly skilled investigators and searchers, and we are committed to using our resources to find answers for a missing person’s family.”

While officers and firefighters regularly monitor the river throughout the year, water conditions are ideal for this type of work as the river is at its lowest and clearest, according to police.

So far this year, 3,572 people have been reported missing in Calgary. Police say most of them have been located, but 0.17 per cent remain unaccounted for.

“The vast majority of those missing persons are luckily found safe. However, there are a few that aren’t located, and we want to put in maximal effort to try and locate those individuals,” Teworte said.

“And we know that the river might be one of those locations where a missing person is going to be found. So we want to put in that effort before the winter to find any individual who might be on the river.”

Police say if the weather isn’t ideal for an aerial search, ground and water searches will continue.

When it comes to missing Indigenous people, Teworte says there is a proportionate overrepresentation and efforts are being made to locate them.

“Part of our commitment to finding all people, including Indigenous missing persons, is the river search and putting in the maximal effort to try and locate people wherever they might be,” he said.

Police say if any remains are found in or outside of city limits, partners will work with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to identify the individual and “ensure no criminal offence has been committed.”

With files from Carlene Sorenson