Police search for missing man who went tubing on Nova Scotia river

CITYnews halifax \ By The Canadian Press

Nova Scotia RCMP reminded people on Tuesday to use extreme caution on the province’s waterways, as police continued their search for a man who went missing while tubing down a river about 80 kilometres west of Halifax.

Three men were tubing Monday in the Gold River on Nova Scotia’s South Shore when their tubes capsized, RCMP Cpl. Guillaume Tremblay said.

Two men managed to swim ashore, and the third man was last seen floating downriver.

“Last evening at approximately 6:30 p.m., RCMP, fire departments and EHS (paramedics) responded to a missing swimmer,” Tremblay said. A military Cormorant search-and-rescue helicopter also joined the search on Monday, he added.

An RCMP helicopter was also involved in the search and was conducting low-level flights along the river and nearby coastal areas on Tuesday. Tremblay didn’t have details on whether the conditions in the river contributed to the capsizing.

“We have seen throughout the province much higher water levels in rivers, lakes and streams due to the torrential rains we had last weekend,” Tremblay said. “We want to remind Nova Scotians to use extreme caution in and around waterways for the next few days and coming weeks as the water level slowly returns to normal.”

Up to 250 millimetres fell over the weekend on some parts of the province, washing out roads and damaging infrastructure.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 25, 2023.

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.