Three saved but search on for missing swimmer

Ontario Provincial Police, Bayham Fire and Rescue Services and Norfolk County paramedics are searching for a swimmer missing off the beach at Port Burwell Provincial Park.

Acting OPP Sergeant Ed Sanchuck reported that on Saturday, Sept. 11, at about 1:49 p.m., emergency services were called in for a report of a missing swimmer and three near-drownings in the waters of Lake Erie.

Two individuals had been swimming in Lake Erie when they became distressed, and two others entered the water to save them, Sgt. Sanchuck said, but instead got into trouble themselves.

A Good Samaritan on the beach repeatedly threw a life-saving ring into the water, saving three of the swimmers, but the fourth is still missing.

Members of the OPP Emergency Response Team, police dogs and officers on all-terrain vehicles were searching along the shore of Lake Erie, coordinated by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Trenton, along with Auxiliary Coast Guard members and park employees.