Police have recovered a body and ended the search for a man who went over the weir while jet skiing on Saskatoon's South Saskatchewan River last month.
Body Found Near Clarkboro Ferry
According to Saskatoon police, a body was found on July 2 in the Rural Municipality of Corman Park near the Clarkboro Ferry. Pending confirmation with dental records, police have notified family and tentatively identified the body as 32-year-old Adan Vargas Salvador.
Police said last month the man was visiting from Mexico. On June 20 at 4:46 p.m., Saskatoon police and fire crews responded to the area of the weir at 33rd Street and Spadina Crescent after receiving numerous calls about a jet ski rider in distress.
Family Mourns
“I would give my life just to have him come back to me,” sister Erika Vargas wrote in a Facebook post. “We as humans take for granted everything and everyone in our life and want to cry when (they’re) gone and it’s too late so tonight tell ur loved ones you love them cause I know I won’t be able to tell him that …”
Search Efforts
Saskatoon police on Friday thanked partner agencies involved in the search, including Saskatoon Fire Department, RCMP, Warman Fire Department, Corman Park police, the Hutterian Emergency Aquatic Response Team (HEART), and members of the public who provided information.
Several police units — including tactical support, missing persons, forensic identification and aerial support — used drones, a plane and a boat to search the riverbanks and water.
River Hazards
The Clarkboro Ferry is located approximately 35 kilometres northeast of the Saskatoon weir. Police and fire officials say the river’s recent increased water levels and speed are creating more hazards on and around the river.
The weir, located just before the CPR bridge that connects the City Park neighbourhood to the University of Saskatchewan, was completed in 1940 to regulate water flow and raise water levels throughout the city. According to the City of Saskatoon’s website, the weir stopped having a functional role after the Gardiner Dam at Lake Diefenbaker was built in 1967, and has since existed as a heritage feature.
Weirs can also pose an extreme danger as the reverse current traps objects and repeatedly forces them back under the water, making it difficult to surface long enough to swim out.
