The search continues for a fourth day to find two young brothers who went missing in eastern Manitoba’s Nutimik Lake on Saturday.
Aaron Au Ramirez, 13, left, and Maximo Au Ramirez, 10, fell into the rapids near Sturgeon Falls around noon.
Maximo had slipped off rocks into the fast-moving water and Aaron went in to try to save him, RCMP said on Monday.
The RCMP’s underwater recovery team and the Hutterian Emergency Aquatic Response Team, or HEART, have been searching every day since the boys went in and failed to resurface.
They have been joined by numerous volunteers in boats.
RCMP are also searching from the air with drones and underwater with sonar.
Some items of clothing believed to belong to Aaron have been located, but there have been no other signs, RCMP Staff Sgt. Cory Meyers said on Monday.
Police are urging all boaters in the area to immediately report anything that may help locate the boys — clothing, personal belongings, footwear or any other items in the water or along the shoreline that appear out of place.
Anyone with information is asked to call Lac du Bonnet RCMP at 204-345-8685.
‘We need a miracle’: Search continues for boys feared drowned in Manitoba lake
Sturgeon Falls is a wide set of rapids between Nutimik and Numao lakes, which are wide parts of the Winnipeg River, about 135 kilometres east of Winnipeg and near the Manitoba-Ontario border.
The rapids have claimed several lives over the past decade, and some people say more needs to be done to block the rocky area from being accessed.
A spokesperson for the province told CBC in a Monday email that Manitoba Parks is currently reviewing safety measures in the area, but “there are a number of warning signs and cautions” posted near the falls.
Those include warnings about slippery or hidden rocks, strong currents and a steep drop-off, the spokesperson said.
