Search efforts for two missing boaters continue for the fifth day after a canoe overturned on Upper Kananaskis lake on Tuesday.
Cochrane RCMP and Kananaskis Emergency Services were called to the lake around 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 26, after a canoe carrying four people capsized.
Two paddlers were rescued by bystanders, but a 34-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman remain missing. The four were part of a larger group of tourists visiting the area from abroad.
On Friday night, Chen-Yi Wu of Taiwan identified her brother, Chi-Chang Wu, as the missing man in a statement shared on social media:
"He and three other friends went kayaking at a lake near Canmore . . . Their kayak flipped over and two people could not be found after the incident. One of them is my brother," the post read.
"Their friends called the police and the rescue/searching started on the same day but there's no update yet. Underwater searching started the next day. Local Taiwanese people were informed of the incident and were helping with the investigation."
Wu said her brother had been living in Canada since January 2024, and that she was flying into Calgary on Saturday. She did not respond to request for comment.
What initially was a rescue effort involving air patrols and shoreline checks quickly shifted to a recovery operation, with crews using sonar-equipped boats, dive teams and a Parks Canada cadaver dog. Searches were cut short on Wednesday due to high winds but continued through the week.
"The search is continuing, focusing on efforts in the water itself . . . They're continuing, I believe, with the dive team there today and they're going to have additional boats in the water," said Cpl. Troy Savinkoff of the RCMP.
This incident is among several local water-related fatalities in the past two weeks, including the deaths of two boaters at Barrier Lake and two swimmers at Calgary's Mahogany Lake. In both cases, none were wearing life jackets.
Under federal law, all boats -- including canoes and kayaks -- are required to carry a properly-sized life jacket or personal flotation devices (PFDs) for each person on board.
"We don't breathe underwater, so we've got to do more to keep people's heads above water," said Mike Holroyd, executive director of Alberta Whitewater Association. "Life jackets have to be worn, right? I think there's people that maybe have PFDs in their boats, but they have to be worn otherwise they're not going to work."
Glacier-fed lakes in the Kananaskis region pose a serious hypothermia risk, even for experienced boaters.
"People don't quite recognize how cold the water is, for sure . . . Wind up on those lakes is (strong). It can look like a really nice day and then storms come through the mountains really quickly. But that said, if somebody's at least got a PFD on, they've got a fighting chance at staying up, even in the cold," said Holroyd.
The stability of a canoe or kayak depends heavily on its design and the water conditions, Holroyd explained. Inexperienced boaters may believe their craft is safe when it's not suited for the water.
"Those kinds of nuances are hard for people to recognize," he said.
Holroyd recommends taking lessons, noting there are many options in the Calgary area that can make a big difference in paddlers' knowledge before heading out on the water.
Tourism Canmore and Kananaskis urges paddlers to wear life jackets, be aware of cold waters, wear sun protection and stay hydrated. The Alberta Whitewater Association offers a free online river safety course, which Holroyd said can also apply to larger bodies of water like lakes.