Update:
A second body has been found during the search for two Kitchener women who went missing in the Grand River over the weekend.
Waterloo Regional Police say a deceased female was found on the banks of the river in Paris.
“On July 16, 2024, at approximately 4:30 p.m., emergency services, including Waterloo Regional Police, Ontario Provincial Police, Cambridge Fire Department, and Brant County Fire Department attended the area of Willow Street where it was believed a body was spotted in the river,” police said in a news release.
The first body was recovered Monday evening near the old Blair Bridge at Old Mill Road in Cambridge.
Police are still working to positively identify the deceased and say no further searches are taking place at this time.
Original story below:
A body found near the old Blair Bridge at Old Mill Road in Cambridge last night has not been positively identified as one of two Kitchener women who went missing in the Grand River over the weekend.
The body is, however, that of an adult female, said Waterloo regional police who are now treating the search as a recovery effort given the length of time since the pair went missing.
WRPS Inspector Matt Halliday told reporters this afternoon that police are waiting on the results of a post mortem to determine the identity of the deceased.
Police provided that update to media at Riverbluffs Park in Cambridge this afternoon along with further details about the search for the two women, which continues four days after they went missing while rafting on the Grand River in Kitchener.
The Cambridge Fire Department's airboat and an OPP helicopter has been aiding in the search along the riverbanks from the Parkhill dam to the Hidden Valley Low Lift Station dam where the women were last seen Saturday.
Police also clarified what they learned from witnesses Saturday night after a 911 call came in around 9:30 p.m.
Halliday said two women were seen in distress in a side-by-side two-seater raft as it went over a dam near Hidden Valley Road, west of King Street East in Kitchener.
"The witness did not see the two boaters resurface," Halliday said. Neither were wearing life jackets at the time.
The water was turbulent at the dam when emergency services arrived and the condition of the Grand is believed to be a contributing factor in the incident.
The raft was seen deflated in the churning water near the dam.
An initial search of the area was unsuccessful and WRPS, Waterloo Region React, Ontario Provincial Police, the Cambridge Fire Department, the Kitchener Fire Department, the Region of Waterloo and the Grand River Conservation Authority continued efforts Sunday and Monday.
The body was recovered shortly after 6 p.m. Monday by an OPP helicopter aerial search team.
Cambridge Fire Department chief Rob Martin said the high river levels and the amount of debris in the river has made the search challenging.
"They're taking their time and being meticulous with their search," he said, adding there were times this morning when the airboat had to be pulled from the river because of the weather and redeployed when it cleared.
Martin said the CFD team will continue to do searches of the river over the next few days during daylight hours.
Police continue to urge members of the public not to aid in the search effort as conditions along the riverbank remain treacherous and water levels are high and fast flowing.
"Emergency services has dedicated resources deployed and the assistance is not required," Halliday said.
WRPS communications manager Cherri Greeno said the families of the two women have asked for privacy at this time.
She said police are in constant contact and providing support as required.
