Jan 21/00
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Eagle Lake Search for Nepean Man Called OffPhotography and text by David Brison The search for George Nitsche, 43, from Nepean, was called off at noon today (Friday, January 21,'00) by the OPP. The provincial OPP diving team, from Gravenhurst, began operations on Eagle Lake on Thursday. They prepared to resume diving today but before they could get into the water, they were called away to Hurst, Ontario to assist in another search. It appears likely that Nitsche was skating and went through one of the open holes in the ice in Eagle Lake.
Police have been investigating since Monday, January 17,'00 when
Nitsche failed to turn up for work and was reported missing. His car
was found at the cottage owned by his family on Eagle Lake near the
village of Parham. He lives in Nepean with his mother and she reported
that he had taken his skates with him when he left for the cottage on
January 14,'00. His boots were at the cottage but the skates weren't
found, and his coat and other heavy clothes were also not at the
cottage.
George Nitsche's truck parked in front of his cottage. The OPP investigating team, led by Detective Norval Morley from the Kingston detachment, searched the shoreline on Monday, January 17,'00. They were assisted by a police tracking dog.. On Tuesday, a helicopter joined the search. They looked for signs of him along the shore and in cottages but could find nothing. Several open holes in the ice could be seen from the air. There was no snow on the ice on Monday and the surface was a black sheet of glazed ice. Observers said that it would have been difficult to spot the open holes before getting to them. When the diving team arrived on Thursday, they began searching at a spot approximately .5 miles directly out in front of the Nitsche cottage. The water depth at the point where they were diving was 70 - 90 feet. Larry McCormick, a member of the OPP diving unit since 1977, reported that they could find nothing to indicate that Nitsche had gone into the ice where they were diving. There weren't any signs, such as skate marks on the ice, that would indicate that he had been on that portion of the lake. However, no skate marks were found anyplace. Police indicated that it is not likely that the search will be resumed until after the ice breaks up in the spring. There are open holes on many of the lakes in the Land O'Lakes area. There have been confirmed reports of open water on Bobs Lake and Sharbot Lake. The recent cold snap has probably closed many of these open spots but the ice over them may be very thin and would be treacherous. Despite police warnings, snowmobiles could be seen today on Eagle Lake and many of the other lakes in the area. Larry McCormick, from the OPP diving and rescue unit, spoke knowingly, from his experience with ice rescues, of the dangers of going on the ice. "You can be on solid ice and not 10 feet away can be a thin spot. When we go out to dive, we carefully plan our route, and after checking it, we don't vary from that path when we go back out." McCormick recommends that anyone going out on the ice wear a life preserver and carry a pick that would help them to hold onto the ice and pull themselves out of the water.
Officer McCormick preparing to fill in diving hole with chunks of ice that were cut from the hole
