Volunteer divers search lake in 1972 cold case of Adrien McNaughton

The family of an Ottawa Valley boy who disappeared during a fishing trip more than 40 years ago watched from the shore Saturday afternoon as volunteer divers searched the lake where he was last seen.

A CBC true-crime podcast that delved into the cold case of AdrienMcNaughton planned the dive at Holmes Lake after unearthing a new clue.

"None of it's easy," said Adrien's sister Shontelle McNaughton. "You want to find something but at the same time maybe you don't [because] that would mean maybe he's still out there."

'None of it's easy,' says sister

8 years ago

Duration 0:27

Shontelle McNaughton and other family members of an Ottawa Valley boy who disappeared during a fishing trip more than 40 years ago watched from the shore as volunteer divers searched the lake where he was last seen.

Her brother was five years old when he was last seen wandering into the woods during a fishing trip with his father and three siblings at the lake west of Ottawa in 1972. Shontelle, the youngest in the family, was not there.

The serial podcastSomeone Knows Somethinglaunched earlier this year with an in-depth look at the case and a desireby hostDavidRidgen to find new information that might solve the mystery.

BelgianMalinoiscadaver dogs, trained to only react tothe scent of human remains, were brought to the lake a first in the case, Ridgen said.

Four different dogsmarked the same spot on the lake on four different days.

"We're following new information. It always surprises me that you can actually find new information," he said.

'Pretty terrible' visibility

ShawnMcKnight, avolunteer search-and-rescue diver, said the"pretty terrible"visibility in the lake is hampering efforts.

The bottom of the lake is shallow and rocky to about 10 feet from the shore, then it drops off toa maximum depth of 30 feet with a fine silt covering the ground, he said.

"We're having a fairlydifficult time searching," he said. "Once we get anywhere near (thesilt) it kind of explodes and completely reduces our visibility to zero. So, we're going through large clouds of silt."

So far, all the divers have found in is muck, fishing lines and sardine cans,Ridgensaid.

"Right now it's just watchful waiting. Trying to keep as calm as possible," he said.

If he's not here, then what happened? If he is here, what happened?- ShontelleMcNaughton

Shontelle McNaughton said the renewed interest in the case has once again shone the spotlight on a family that prefers its privacy.

"It's outside of our comfort zone," she said, adding that it was still important to be at the lake as divers searched.

"One way or the other, the outcome creates more questions. If he's not here, then what happened? If he is here, what happened?"

One of thepodcastproducers said Saturday evening that the search wouldn't continueSunday but could possibly continue at a future date.

In 2009, OPP released anage-enhanced sketch of what McNaughton might look like as a middle-aged man.

The podcast team also enlisted a forensic artist to come up with seven possibilities of what McNaughton could look like today.