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Dead body found in Brandon

By: Staff Writer

Sunday, May. 13, 2012 at 2:10 PM | Comments: 0

UPDATE: Police locate body near riverbank.

A man’s body was found on the Assiniboine River’s bank on Saturday on the outskirts of Brandon.

At about 6:15 p.m., police were called to the CP Rail bridge — more commonly known as Cram’s Crossing — where a citizen discovered a body while out walking.

The body was removed and transported to the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg for a post mortem.

The body is believed to be that of a man who entered the river on April 21st, police said.

— — — —

There are more questions than answers surrounding a possible drowning in the Assiniboine River on April 21st.

Shortly after 5 p.m., police were called to the Brandon dam near Dinsdale Park after witnesses saw a man enter the water.

A police investigation revealed that an older man — believed to be in his 50s — walked out to the cement ledge at the dam, sat down and pushed himself forward into the water. The man was seen trying to swim in the river before being pulled under by the strong current, at which point witnesses lost sight of him.

Bob and Rose Whittington were shocked to learn that a man had possibly died in the water less than 100 yards away from where they were reading at Dinsdale Park on Sunday.

"I hope they find him," Rose said.

Brandon Fire and Emergency Services’ water rescue team and police officers scoured the water in a zodiac boat, probing near the dam, in search of the body on Saturday. Search efforts resumed further downstream yesterday.

"At this point we have been unable to locate the man," said Staff Sgt. Jones with the Brandon Police Service.

With few leads, police relied heavily on witness statements to try to understand how the incident occurred.

"We canvassed anyone in the area to determine if they may have seen the gentleman or if they had any indication of where he came from," Jones explained. "We actively investigate the circumstances to determine if there is anyway we could identify the subject, so we could ascertain if he did in deed sustain harm from his action or if we have information that will help to locate him or if he’s possibly still in the water."

Police are asking the public to help them identify the man, describing him as a caucasian man of average height, heavier set, with light hair. He was wearing a navy sweater, light coloured jeans and sneakers at the time of the incident.

"At this point, if people know of someone who is missing that fits that description we are urging them to come forward and talk to the police," Jones said.

This isn’t the first time Brandon police have been called to the dam, Jones said, warning that people need to remember to respect the power of raging current.

"People must realize that area isn’t the safest place to be," Jones said. "The water is so unpredictable and it is a risk."

Police and firefighters will continue to search in an attempt to resolve the many unanswered questions the incident has created.

"We hope we can identify this individual and determine what transpired," Jones said. "Regardless of what happened we hope to notify the family and notify them of what happened and bring them some closure to what occurred."

» Brandon Sun

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