Fort McMurray - in the right place at the right time


    We had just helped recover a drowning victim on Lake Powell and had returned to Wahweap Marina when we received a call from Fort McMurray, Alberta. Gail Bailey had met us in Deer Lake, Newfoundland, after we had recovered a nineteen year old man missing for 73 days in Little Bonne Bay Pond. Gail, a very sweet lady and local restaurant owner, remembered how quickly we had found and recovered him and now she was asking for our help to find two other nineteen year old men.

    Devon Rock and Adam Roth had gone canoeing with two other friends on the Clearwater River on May 31st. Their canoe soon began to swamp and all four were suddenly in the water. Two of them were able to swim to shore despite the swift current but Devon and Adam disappeared underwater. The canoe was an older model and did not have flotation. They entered the river about four miles above its mouth at the Athabasca River and the families feared if the bodies reached the Athabasca, they may be much more difficult to find. At the time of the accident, the river was flowing very high and muddy with currents estimated in excess of 7 knots.

    This part of the Clearwater River is characterized by a shallow, meandering channel with sandbars and scattered islands. Much of the river is three to four feet deep with occasional areas being fifteen to forty feet deep. A forty foot deep hole was found above the reported location where the canoe capsized.  During the early 1800's, the river was a major transportation route for barges and other vessels supplying the fur trade between Hudson and the Athabasca District to the west. Although barges no longer travel the river, there are many indications of docking areas along the shoreline as well as remnants of sheet pilings and attendant debris underwater. All of this complicates searching.

    The high current and shallow depth did not bode well for a successful search using side scan sonar. We explained the difficulties presented by the current and hard packed sand bottom and other debris, but Gail would not take no for an answer. She is well known for her persistence and organizational skills, in addition to fundraising for good causes. When we seemed to be dragging our feet in making a commitment, she asked "Well, you are coming aren't you?"

    The Fort McMurray area has played an important part in Canada's petroleum industry. The early native people used the surface exposed oil sands to waterproof their canoes. Oil exploration began in the early 1900's and a small refinery was operational in the 1920's. Production was minimal until 1967 when the Great Canadian Oil Sands (now Suncor) opened a plant and the Fort McMurray area began to grow. Oil production suffered during the mid eighties because of low oil price and high production cost. However, the increase in oil prices in 2003 has made oil sand production profitable and the area is now a very important part of Canada's economy.

    We had more work on Lake Powell, searching for a second boat that sunk in the same storm as the one in which four people drowned, so we could not give Gail a definite time when we could leave for Fort McMurray. We had also received other calls for search assistance and we had to prioritize our requests to make the most efficient use of our time. On the morning we were preparing to leave Lake Powell, we received yet another call to help with a search on Ririe Reservoir near Idaho Falls. The reservoir was not far out of our way, so we went there on our way home to find and recover a missing fisherman.

    After we finally arrived home, we began planning for the 1500 mile trip to northeastern Alberta. We called Deb Tirmenstein, a good friend and search dog handler in Missoula, Montana. We discussed the information we had about the incident and asked if she and her two dogs could help with the search. We knew the river current would complicate the search and, with the passage of time, could increase the size of the search area considerably. She agreed to help. We have considerable faith in Deb and her dogs, Ruby and Wibaux, as they have helped us on several searches in the past with very good results.

    Gail continued to call with more information about the river, as well as to ask when we could come. She had organized a fundraising effort at her restaurant and had received overwhelming support, as well as offers of help from local boaters, search and rescue organizations, and the local RCMP detachment.

    We left for Fort McMurray on June 12th. Just before crossing the Canadian border in Montana the next morning, we called Gail to give her an update on our travel as well as to ask if the boys had been found. She sheepishly said "Yes, Devon was found yesterday, but we did not want to tell you for fear you would not come. Both families still want you to come to search for Adam." We spent that night in Edmonton and met up with Deb just north of town.

    We arrived in Fort McMurray around noon and were escorted to Snye Park on the Clearwater River. The search headquarters had been set up there since the beginning of the search. Adam was still missing. We were taken by boat to the area of the accident and shown where the two survivors had swum to shore. At the time, I did not voice my concerns that this was going to be a much more difficult search than I had imagined. Even though the current had slowed considerably, the shallow water and amount of debris along the shorelines was not looking good.

    We unhitched the boat and parked the motorhome on a reasonably level spot on the crowded sandbar. Since it was Sunday, the park was very busy. The RCMP had closed off an area for the search headquarters. While we set up the side scan equipment, Deb and one dog were taken out on a Suncor Emergency Services boat to search for scent.
Deb with Cowboy
On the second day, Deb and Wibaux are on the Clearwater River with "Cowboy" David Todd.

    Doug Flint, President of the Fort McMurray Search and Rescue Society, offered to launch our boat at the same upstream ramp used by the canoeists. This was greatly appreciated because that ramp was also very busy and not suitable for our motorhome. We began searching in the center of the river, working our way towards river left. We could only search going downriver because while going upstream, the fast current caused the towfish to yaw excessively and smear the images of the bottom. We searched about one-half mile of the river. Deb met up with us and said that she had pinpointed an area of interest along the left river bank. We continued imaging to the left shoreline and suspended searching late in the day.

    That evening, we discussed Deb's search results, and reviewed side scan images on our larger monitor in the motorhome. We found one suspicious-looking object a little upstream of most of the dog alerts. Considering the fast moving current probably was taking the scent downstream before it surfaced, we decided the object was worth further investigation. The hard packed sand bottom made it more difficult to interpret the side scan images because it reflected sound in about the same intensity as a human body would. Complicating interpretation further was the fact that the object was in a small depression and next to a section of sheet piling which had been undercut and had fallen into the river.

    The next morning we contacted the RCMP and asked if they would provide divers to check the object lying in about 14 feet of water. Visibility was about as good as a double chocolate mocha latte.  The dive team the RCMP had available (three man crew) would cost $300 per hour and the RCMP were not willing to assume that expense without a better probability of the object being Adam. They suggested probing the area with a long pole and hook to determine what it was. When the Suncor team arrived, we took them to the location and asked them to probe the area. Their pole was too short, so they called a local fire department to ask for a longer pike pole. With the two lashed together, they began to probe the area. It was difficult to probe because of the swift current, but using a sweeping motion to get the pole to the bottom seemed to help.

    Meanwhile, Deb had been provided with a different boat and driver. She continued searching down the Clearwater River, and then more 12 miles down the Athabasca with no indications. She worked one dog at a time while the other dog was kept in the shade at Snye Park.

    While the Suncor team continued probing, we went back to side scan imaging. Around 11 AM, we noticed they were waving their arms to attract our attention. We suspended our searching and boated to their location. They said they had felt something soft and had hooked the object. Its weight was similar to a person underwater, but it came unhooked and they could not find it again. We imaged the area a few more times and it appeared the object may have been in a different position. After lunch, they continued to probe.

    Later in the afternoon, after a few hours of unsuccessful probing, the Suncor team asked if Deb could come back to see if her dogs would scent anything in the area. She did….they didn't! We decided to take a break and park in the shade of some trees along the river bank downstream while Deb began a detailed search below where our object was. Soon, she was getting interest very near where we were parked, so back to work we went.

    We imaged a strange, fuzzy looking object that did not resemble anything else in the river. It did not appear to be a body, but was close to the right size. So we continued searching further downstream. We ended the work on the river, hot, tired and disappointed.
We met with the RCMP and Adam's family and briefed them on the day's activities. After discussing all possibilities we came to think that if the object was in fact Adam, apparently he had been dislodged and was moving downstream along the bottom. This would account for the lack of dog interest upstream and interest in a new area downstream.

    Knowing the time that the object was hooked and lost and the time of the next downstream dog interest, I calculated the object was moving at a rate of about 900 feet per hour. If it continued to move at the same rate, and not get hung up again, it should pass by Snye Park at 2 AM.

    Deb went back out late in the evening. Her dog had interest a bit further downstream than earlier in the afternoon. This gave rise to further discussion about how do we search for a moving body? If it is moving along the bottom, it will not create a distinctive image. Also if we were lucky enough to see a body on the side scan, how do we get divers there quickly enough to accomplish a recovery and how do they find him in swiftly moving, zero visibility water?

    It began to get dark at 11:00 PM, so we decided to call it a day. Everyone left the park while Sandy and I stayed, dry camping in our motorhome.

    I was awake at 4 AM after not getting much sleep, worrying about what we were going to do next. Not wanting to wake Sandy that early, I stayed in bed until 5 AM. The sun was up and the park was very quiet. I started the generator to make some coffee. Before I put my glasses on, I decided to raise the curtain on the window facing the river. We had parked the motorhome about one hundred feet from the edge of the river. Between us and the river was a small memorial of a circle of rocks with some flowers and several cards left by Devon and Adam's friends and family.
Memorial for Devon and Adam.
A park visitor reads a card left at the memorial for Devon and Adam at Snye Park.

    Sandy was just starting to get up, when I saw something several feet offshore in the river. I grabbed my glasses and yelled to Sandy, "Is that a body?" It was directly offshore from the memorial. I almost tripped pulling on my pants, and, as I went out the door, asked Sandy to call the RCMP. Local people come to the park early in the morning to fish and others were expected soon. We wanted to get the area secured before too many people arrived.

    As I ran to the river bank and confirmed it was in fact a body, I turned to Sandy with a "thumbs up" to confirm. He was floating face up with his left hand and forearm above the surface almost as if he were waving to me to come to him. I took off my shoes and waded into the river, taking him by his wrist to bring him to shore so he would not float on down the river.

    Two RCMP officers arrived and took our statements. They requested the local fire department to come to the park to transport Adam's body. The word quickly spread through the community and family members and friends arrived.

    Later that morning, Gail invited us to join family members and friends at her restaurant, Ms. B's, for brunch. After many hugs and handshakes, we were on the road home with a fresh baked blueberry pie from Ms. B's.

    We would like to acknowledge and personally thank everyone who helped arrange our trip, and provided assistance while we were there. The list is way too long, and I am sure I did not get everyone's name.  Gail Bailey deserves a very special thank you for her faith in us and for her persistent efforts to make it happen. Victim Services Coordinator, Joanne Roberts, was a whirlwind of help, working with the families and arranging for anything that we needed. RCMP Staff Sergeant Stephan Lemire was the most cooperative and compassionate Canadian police officer with whom we have ever worked. The Fort McMurray Search and Rescue Society and the Suncor Emergency team were relentless in their efforts before we arrived, as well as providing information and support while we were there. David Todd (aka "Cowboy") provided his boat and shared his knowledge of the river in support of Deb and her dog team. Dwayne Janes helped launch our boat the second day and filled up our motorhome with diesel on our way out of town. We were so impressed with everyone's compassion and willingness to help.

    Last but not least, we would have been lost without the help of Deb Tirmenstein and her black lab wonder dogs, Ruby and Wibaux. Thank you so much, Deb. We have said many times that we didn't have a lot to do with finding Adam - we were just in the right place at the right time. We may never know why.

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