Deadly long weekend on Alberta lakes

At least one person died on Alberta waters over the Heritage Day long weekend.

A woman in her 30s was found dead in Lake McGregor, near Vulcan, Sunday.

She was found without a life jacket. The man she was boating with is still missing.

The power boat the two were believed to be travelling in was found near the shore by a family out for a fishing trip.

Donna was on that trip and told 660 NEWS they found the boat with music playing and dogs inside whimpering; two on board, and one in the water.

She said she stayed with the dogs while the others went searching for the owners.

“They found the lady’s body and she was deceased unfortunately,” she explained. “It was very traumatic to see something like that.”

RCMP called off the search for the missing man suggesting there was nowhere left to look.

Donna said her family frequents Lake McGregor and adds it’s a very dangerous lake in bad weather and there were white caps on Sunday.

“I don’t understand everything behind it, why it was taking so long to get the search and rescue and that,” she said citing a 3.5 hour wait for a rescue boat and a near five hour wait for air support.

Donna said private boat-owners offered RCMP the use of their crafts in the interim, but police were unsure they were allowed to use non-RCMP rafts.

Donna confirmed to 660 NEWS that she will be lodging a complaint with the RCMP over concerns emergency response was too slow and lacked organization and resources.

Another incident Monday night resulted in one man being transported to hospital.

Police say the man in his 30s was pulled from Lake Chaparral in life-threatening condition. Police say his condition has since been upgraded to stable.

The near drowning happened shortly before 7:00 p.m. Monday.

Thankfully the Calgary Fire Department Aquatic Rescue Team was taking part in a practice exercise nearby and was able to respond quickly.

The team found the man at the bottom of the lake, pulled him out, and started CPR.

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