The body of a man who was missing and presumed drowned after the boat he was in sank in Cockeram Lake in northwestern Manitoba has been located, RCMP said Oct. 31.
The body of Philip Rodgers was recovered through the efforts of civilian searchers including the HEART (Hutterian Emergency Aquatic Response Team) Team, which uses divers, sonar, remotely operated vehicles and other boats as part of its volunteer search and recovery efforts. HEART identified the missing man as Rodgers in an Oct. 30 social media post.
“This evening we located and recovered the body of Philip Rodgers in Cockeram Lake,” the HEART Team wrote. “We sincerely thank all of our friends who prayed for this family and mission. We thank all those who took care of us in Lynn Lake so that we could concentrate on searching. Thank you to all those who generously donated for this mission. Please continue to pray for the Rodgers family as they try to piece their lives back together.”
The RCMP also paid tribute to the efforts of searchers n locating Rodgers’s body.
“The RCMP would like to acknowledge the efforts of the residents of Marcel Colomb First Nation and Lynn Lake, who put in countless hours of searching as well as providing support to the searchers and family who have been on scene since the incident occurred,” Manitoba RCMP said in a news release.
Rodgers and a 30-year-old woman from Lynn Lake were reported overdue on Oct. 15 around 10 p.m. The pair were known to have gone fishing on Cockeram Lake, about 10 kilometres east of Lynn Lake.
A search by civilians along with Lynn Lake RCMP, Leaf Rapids RCMP and Canadian Rangers based in Lynn Lake began Oct. 16. Aerial patrols were also conducted. The searchers found the boat the two people had been on submerged in the lake, but the occupants were not with it.
On the evening of Oct. 16, civilian searchers found the 30-year-old woman’s body.
