An 18-year-old from Winnipeg is dead after he drowned while swimming in a southeastern Manitoba gravel pit over the weekend.
Mounties were called around 9:30 p.m. Sunday with reports of a drowning in a gravel pit southwest of Grunthal, about 60 kilometres southeast of Winnipeg.
The teen was with a group of friends when he decided to try to swim across the pit but went under around the midway point, police said in a Monday news release.
RCMP, along with members of the local fire department and STARS air ambulance, searched before divers could investigate on Monday morning at the pit, off Road 25 E. in the rural municipality of Hanover.
The RCMP underwater recovery team found the body of the 18-year-old early Monday afternoon. The investigation continues.
“It’s really sad … and it’s shocking,” said Andrew Fehr, who owns Green Valley RV & Cabins, across the road from the privately owned gravel pit.
“It does make you a little bit nervous … having that happen right across the road from my campground.”
Fehr said a neighbour contacted him Sunday night to tell him there was a helicopter doing passes overhead with a spotlight not far from the park.
Entrance to the pit is typically blocked off and has prominent no-trespassing signage, Fehr said, but it’s still been used for swimming for years.
RCMP search and rescue crews look out over a gravel pit near Grunthal, Man., where an 18-year-old from Winnipeg drowned Sunday night. (Submitted by RCMP)
“I grew up swimming in those pits too, but they were a lot smaller. I think it’s deceptively large … I’m guessing they’re a minimum of 20 feet deep,” he said.
“It makes me just want to be more careful, because I have swimming at my own campground … and we have a beach and stuff, and so we’re very careful to put up signs that say ‘deep water’ and no kids swimming without adult supervision. You’ve got to be careful.”
The Grunthal-area death is one of several incidents over what was a “tragic weekend” across rural Manitoba, according to RCMP.
A search and recovery effort continues for two brothers, ages 10 and 13, who failed to surface after slipping into rapids in Nutimik Lake in eastern Manitoba on Saturday.
A 16-year-old from Virden also died after hitting an unmarked guy wire while dirt biking with friends in Oak Lake, in the rural municipality of Sifton, about 50 kilometres west of Brandon.
An 18-year-old from Dauphin also died Saturday, after the vehicle he was driving appears to have lost control and ended up in a ditch while rounding a corner on Highway 20, near Road 156, in the rural municipality of Dauphin, RCMP said.
“The death of any young person is a tragedy that devastates their families, friends and entire communities,” RCMP spokesperson Melanie Roussel said in a statement Monday.
While Manitoba summers “have so much to offer,” RCMP said they’re urging everyone to “take precautions and make safe choices,” whether on the water, on a highway or riding off-road.