A tragic weekend on local waterways has claimed the lives of three men, and local officials are warning the public to exercise more caution around glacier-fed lakes and rivers.
As the temperatures climbed above 30 C on Sunday (June 13), 22-year-old Colby Berner and 26-year-old Calgarian Christopher Guthrie plunged into 11 C waters on the Bow River en route to a popular cliff-jumping spot halfway between Kananaskis and Horseshoe dams, near the old Seebe townsite. Dozens of swimmers had converged on the cliff-jumping location for the day, trespassing across private property to access the site. Amidst the throng of visitors, Berner struggled to swim across the river before the waters overtook him. Bystanders pulled his unconscious body to shore, and administered CPR for 30 minutes.
EMS arrived at the scene, and Kananaskis Emergency Services along with Alpine Helicopters heli-slung the man to a staging area He was then transferred to Foothills Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Meanwhile, EMS and RCMP were notified Guthrie had also disappeared in the river. Police began to search for the man on the banks and shelves, later bringing in underwater cameras and a jet boat to aid in the search, but to no avail. On Tuesday (July 15) at 11:55 a.m., police found his body. Police have yet to release the cause of death of either swimmer.
A third swimmer, a 17-year-old from Calgary, was also submerged while trying to reach the cliff jumping site, but made it back to shore and was treated for hypothermia.
Cochrane RCMP Cpl. Troy Savinkoff said the popular swimming site has now had three deaths in the past two years, as another man died at the same location last year. A fourth man also died near the Ghost River dam last year on what has become a deadly stretch of water.
“It’s a glacier-fed river. It’s the same issues as we’ve experienced in the past. Inexperienced swimmers and the temperature of the water play a factor. When it’s plus-30 degrees and your body hits the cold water, the shock is very intense,” Cpl. Savinkoff said.
The cause of death has not been determined, and the RCMP hasn’t ruled out alcohol as a factor.
Given the spate of tragic incidents and since swimmers must trespass across CP Rail land to access the cliff-jumping site near Seebe, Cpl. Savinkoff said the RCMP will step up patrols of the area and lay charges in order to discourage swimming there.
“This highlighted how common of a site this has become. It’s a frequently visited spot and very well known by people from as far away as Calgary. People must cross two private properties and in the future, we will enforce it to keep people from the area,” Savinkoff said.
In an unrelated incident, a 65-year-old Calgary man drowned while swimming across Lower Kananaskis Lake on Saturday (July 12).
Kananaskis Public Safety Officer Mike Koppang said the man was found 10 feet offshore and a cause of death is still unknown.
“He was very close to shore when something happened,” Koppang said. “He was swimming by himself with someone watching from the shore. They lost sight of him and called 911.”
Conservation Officers from Peter Lougheed Provincial Park were the first to respond. It’s the second death in the park this summer. Earlier this year, a kayaker died on Upper Kananaskis Lake.
Koppang said anyone swimming for long periods in glacier fed waters should wear a wet suit or at least a PFD for insulation. He said Lower Kananaskis Lake temperatures are also around 11 C.
“It’s really cold water here. It’s not a lake in Saskatchewan It’s flowing and cold.”
