NEWS RELEASE
ONTARIO PROVINCIAL POLICE
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BRACEBRIDGE - On Apr. 7, 2017 at approximately 5:30 p.m., Bracebridge Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officers along with Muskoka Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Bracebridge Fire Department and Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry responded to a report of a canoe that had overturned in the Muskoka River near High Falls and both occupants, a man and a child, had been thrown into the river.
Police rushed to the scene and located the man who said that the child, an 8-year-old boy, was unaccounted for.
Officers searched the area and located the child who, although was wearing a life jacket, had gone over the falls. Officers entered the water to retrieve him and CPR was initiated. The boy was transported to hospital but has since succumbed to his injuries.
The man was also transported to hospital and treated for minor injuries relating to his exposure to the elements.
Police have charged 37-year-old David Sillars of Etobicoke with Impaired Operation of a Vessel Causing Death CC 255(3) and Operate Vessel with Over 80mgs Causing Death CC 255(3.1), and he will appear in the Ontario Court of Justice in Bracebridge on May 9, 2017 to answer to his charges.
The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to please call Bracebridge OPP at (888)310-1122 or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. You can submit your information online at www.crimestopperssdm.com if you have any information on this crime or any other crime.
Crime Stoppers does not subscribe to call display and you will remain anonymous. Being anonymous, you will not testify in court and your information may lead to a cash reward of up to $2,000.
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