The search for an 18-year-old man who fell through the ice on the Rivière des Prairies has been suspended after three days of intensive efforts by Montreal police and rescue teams.
Authorities say they were unable to locate the missing teen despite deploying a wide range of resources, including boats, underwater cameras, drones and police divers.
“We resumed the searches — yesterday we tried with the divers and everything — but we weren’t able to locate that gentleman,” said SPVM media relations officer Jean-Pierre Brabant. “For now, they are suspended, but we will maybe recall the searches over the course of the week — that’s going to be evaluated.”
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The young man has been missing since Thursday, March 26, when he and another teenager fell through what appeared to be frozen sections of the river near Île-Bizard.
A 17-year-old was rescued and transported to hospital in stable condition, but the older teen did not resurface.
The search entered its third day Saturday, with crews returning to the water early in the morning. Authorities shifted their focus to a nearby bay after determining that strong currents made the initial area too dangerous for divers and may have carried the victim away.
“We used every tool that we had,” Brabant said. “We had boats, we had cameras underneath, we had a drone that was used, and the last resort was those divers that were trying to look in the bay where we might think he ended up, but we didn’t find anything.”
The operation was described as complex and hazardous, with thinning ice and cold water posing significant risks to rescue crews.
Earlier, police said divers could not safely enter certain parts of the river due to strong currents, prompting a reassessment of the search area.
Despite the challenges, crews worked continuously over three days in an effort to locate the teen and provide answers to his family.
YouThe teen’s family remained present throughout the search, receiving updates from police as the operation unfolded. Dozens of relatives and community members also gathered near the river.
“I was there yesterday, the family was devastated, there were about 25 to 30 people who presented themselves at the sector, they were trying to see if we could locate him, they were waiting for a body to come out, it was very sad,” Brabant said.
Both teens are students at Cégep Gérald-Godin, which has said support measures are in place for students and staff affected by the incident.
Police say the operation could resume in the coming days as officials evaluate next steps, including the possibility of expanding the search area along the river’s eastern shoreline.
In the meantime, authorities continue to warn the public to stay off the ice, noting that late-season conditions make waterways dangerous due to melting surfaces and unpredictable currents.
