One dead, one rescued after canoe overturns on Georgian Bay

Ontario Provincial Police say there was no safety equipment on board a canoe that capsized in frigid Georgian Bay waters on June 13. Two men from Toronto were in the canoe when it overturned at around 8 a.m.—one of them, a 36-year-old man who has not been named by police, was rescued by a kayaker who was nearby. He was treated for cold water exposure at an area hospital.

It took aerial and marine search and rescue teams 12 hours to find 29-year-old Mateusz Janus. His body was found at 8 p.m. by divers from OPP’s Underwater Search and Rescue Unit after he went missing approximately 300 metres from shore between Cedar Point and Mark’s Point in Tiny Township. An autopsy is being conducted to determine the cause of death.

Map where canoe overturned on Georgian Bay — Photo courtesy of Google Maps

Members of the Beausoleil First Nation Fire Service, the crew of the Beausoleil First Nations’ ferry, Indian Maiden, Tiny Township Fire Service, County of Simcoe Paramedic Service, and a search and rescue Hercules aircraft from 424 Squadron Trenton also assisted in the search for Janus.

Aircraft from @JRCCTrentCCCOS along with the #SGBOPP marine unit are searching for one of two canoists who has gone missing after entering the water along around 8:25am today north of Mark's Point @tinytownship. One canoist was rescued & safe, search continues for the second.^dh pic.twitter.com/dTitWbjaDE

— OPP Central Region (@OPP_CR) June 13, 2022