'You only got minutes': Searchers scoured river for Sagkeeng snowmobilers

The community of Sagkeeng First Nation is in a state of shock over the loss of a young man and woman who went through the ice on a snowmobile Tuesday night, and are struggling to understand why the pair would have attempted to cross a river that still has sections of openwater.

The two community members are believed to have beentravelling from the south to north shore of the Winnipeg River behind the SagkeengArena late Tuesday. RCMP were called to the site at around 11:45 p.m.

Brenton Johnston, a safety officer with the First Nation, was on duty with his partner and were dispatched by the Sagkeeng Fire Department. When they arrived, Johnston saw that the middle of the river wasn't frozen over.

"It's dangerous, extremely dangerous, even for us to go out there searching last night. A few of us took our lives into our own hands just to get on our bellies and slide out there into the middle of the ice and listen for sounds to see if anyone was out there, and nothing was heard,"he said.

Johnston said he saw snowmobile tracks along the river bank heading west, then veering into the centre of the river, before they ended and the open water began.

"It was so cold last night, and even tonight, you only got a few minutes. And by the time anybody gets to respond to something like that, especially when they went straight into the water, you don't got a lot of time. And basically, I think it was more a recovery, than it was a search, at that point," he said.

The toll of a futile search in freezing temperatures was made worse Wednesday when Johnstonand his partner learned the identities of the victims.

"It's something else because it's people we know," he said.His co-worker is cousins with one of the missing.

"He took it to heart for sure. It's his family; they're concerned they haven't found their daughter yet."

Watch Brenton Johnston speak about the search effort:

Sagkeeng safety officer describes search for missing snowmobilers

6 years ago

Duration 0:46

Brenton Johnston, a safety officer with the First Nation, was on duty with his partner and were dispatched by the Sagkeeng Fire Department. When they arrived, Johnston saw that the middle of the river wasn't frozen over.

Johnston said they were among 30-40 first responders at the site Tuesday night, including searchers from the Sagkeeng fire department, Pine Falls-Powerview fire department and RCMP. The area they searched is just beyond the riverbank which slopes down to the ice onthe river.

Several people in the community said they knew the families of the two victims and expressed their condolences.

"It's very tragic and hopefully there's enough room on the water hopefully that the boats can get out and retrieve the bodies and bring closure to the families," said Brian Fontaine, who knows the families of the victims.

"Everybody's in disbelief and shock. Why would somebody do something like this, this time of the year? Hardly any snow around here. It's too bad."

Johnston said the current was strong in the middle of the river. A sacred fire was left burningat the site on Wednesday night.

"Right now in the community, it's taking its toll on everybody. There's two members that just passed away here, probably. And it's hurting everybody," he said.

RCMP are continuing their investigation.