Two fathers and two sons were found dead in the Burntwood River north of Thompson May 22 after failing to return on time from a canoeing trip.
Shane Cripps, 44, and his 14-year-old son Dylan along with Connor Sykes, 33, and his six-year-old son Liam, all of Thompson, were found in the water wearing flotation devices after RCMP and Thompson Fire & Emergency Services (TFES) launched two rescue boats to conduct a search for the missing boaters. A helicopter was also chartered and another helicopter that was in the area assisted in the search, along with several other people boating in the area.
"This is the worst result imaginable," said Thompson RCMP Sgt. Ben Sewell in a press release. "This is a devastating accident that has left the community of Thompson in mourning."
Cripps was prominent in the Thompson business community as the owner of the River View Restaurant, the Thompson Lodge & Ecotourism Centre and the concession stand at the Vale Regional Community Centre. He was also active in the Northern Artists Cooperative Ltd., which was organizing the Throw Down in T-Town mixed martial arts competition scheduled for June 2, which has now been postponed.
"My dad was my hero, obviously," James Cripps, 18, told the Canadian Press. "He's everything I aspired to be as a man when I grew up. He taught me so many lessons. He's been there for everything. He was just an awesome, awesome guy. All families have their disagreements at times, but he never hesitated to tell me that he'd be there for me.
Sykes worked at Stittco and had previously worked for Manitoulin Transport and as the general manager of Thompson's Pizza Hut for several years.* His wife, Lindsay Catherine Rose Sykes, told CBC News that she and Conor and Liam and her four-year-old daughter were a very happy family.
"He worked very hard for his family," she said. "He loved us so much."
Sykes said she knew something was wrong when her phone calls to Conor kept going straight to voicemail.
"I want to start by expressing our extreme condolences to the Sykes and Cripps families for the tragedy that occurred yesterday and the loss of life of Conor and Liam Sykes and Shane and Dylan Cripps," said Mayor Dennis Fenske at the outset of council's May 23 meeting. "It's with a heavy heart that the city, council and administration passes condolences on to the families in this tragic event. It is an event that will leave an impression on all of us for the rest of our life, especially the families. I would like to ask that we respect the privacy of the families in their time of grief but that we not forget the families as we move forward as they will require support. It is again with deep condolences that our thoughts and prayers are with the Cripps and Sykes families today and forevermore."
Fenske told CBC the water was probably only about three or four degrees Celsius at the time of the accident.
* This story has been changed from the orginal te reflect that Conor Sykes most recently worked for Stittco, not Manitouln Transport. The Thompson Citizen apologizes for the error.
