‘No chance of survival’: RCMP to start recovery mission for missing N.L. hunters

By Canadian Press

GRAND FALLS-WINDSOR, N.L. — There is no chance the two hunters who went missing off Newfoundland’s northern coast last weekend will be found alive, the Canadian Coast Guard said Tuesday.

Search and rescue operations were scheduled to end at 6 p.m. local time, said Mark Gould, regional supervisor with the coast guard’s maritime rescue sub-centre in St. John’s. The RCMP were to take over the case as a recovery mission, he added in an interview.

“It’s just no longer any chance of survival for these men at sea,” Gould said. “The reality is that it’s a very tragic accident.”

The two men from Gander, N.L., are believed to have left Lawrence Harbour in a 14-foot aluminum boat at noon on Saturday to hunt for sea birds. Search and rescue efforts began for them on Sunday.

On Monday, coast guard rescuers found an overturned aluminum boat that was being used by the two hunters, as well as clothing and personal effects belonging to the men. Gould said the agency estimated the average person could functionally survive in the 7 C water for just under three hours.

The coast guard said the agency used rescue lifeboats, a Cormorant helicopter and a C-130 Hercules aircraft in its search for the missing men.

Gould said the names of the two hunters will not be released.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 16, 2021.

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

The Canadian Press

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