According to Trois-Rivières police spokesman Sergeant Luc Mongrain, Pierre Couture, 65, put his boat in the water at around 1:30 p.m. on Thursday. Still, according to Mr. Mongrain, Pierre Couture is “a regular who kayaks regularly.” “He’s used to paddling up to the KI-8-EB golf club on the Saint-Maurice river and going back down to the island of La Potherie,” he points out .
Relatives reported the kayaker’s disappearance late Friday evening to the Trois-Rivières police, who began search operations. The Trois-Rivières police command post is currently operating on the premises of the Maïkan Aventure satellite base, where the Radisson Club is also located.
The man’s car was still in the club’s parking lot, police said. Relatives were on site on Saturday to give the police all the necessary information, but did not want to speak to journalists for the time being.
“Intense searches were carried out at the scene by patrol officers to check the banks on the east and west sides. For their part, firefighters conducted similar checks aboard their boat on the St-Maurice River. Two drones were also used to try to locate the kayaker and his boat. Currently, all of these tests have come back negative,” Sergeant Mongrain continued.
On Saturday afternoon, the Coast Guard helicopter was called into action and flew over the area.
Reached by telephone, City Councilman Richard W. Dober, who is also president of the Radisson Club, was shocked. “We shouldn’t jump to conclusions right away, but things certainly aren’t looking good at the moment,” he complains, emphasizing that the missing man was a hard-working member of the organization.
“The water is quite high at the moment and it’s not very warm. It is also possible that he was feeling unwell. “We should scour the islands in the river that provide possible shelter for kayakers,” he says. Police officers and firefighters from Trois-Rivières around the island of Saint-Quentin and on the banks of the Saint-Laurent towards Champlain are also carrying out investigations.
Pierre Couture is 65 years old and 1.85 meters tall. When he left the Maïkan he was wearing a wetsuit, a long-sleeved orange sweater and a life jacket, also orange. His kayak type boat is EPIC V6 brand. Anyone with information about locating Mr. Couture is asked to contact police at (819) 691-2929 #6.