Search crews returned to the Red River near Winnipeg’s Louise Bridge on Saturday to continue the search for Darius Bezecki, 9, who was biking with two brothers and a friend near his home on Friday when all four ended up in the water.
Under pouring rain on Saturday morning, search crews returned to the banks of the Red River near Winnipeg’s Louise Bridge to resume the hunt for a nine-year-old boy who, hours earlier, slipped under the water and out of sight.
Darius Bezecki was biking with two brothers and a friend near his home on Friday afternoon when all four ended up in the river, Const. Jay Murray told a news conference Saturday morning. It’s unclear at this point if they were swimming or had fallen in, though that will be part of the investigation, he said.
Three of the boys were able to get out, but Darius didn’t make it out of the water, the officer said.
Darryl Contois was one of the people who came out Saturday to help hunt for Darius, after the initial police search had to be called off at sunset on Friday.
“The family’s here and we give them our support and let them know that we’re all here for him,” he said. “We’re a community, you know, and we try to help as much as we can.”
Paramedics and police responded to reports just after 4:30 p.m. Friday of someone in distress in the river near the Louise Bridge, Murray said. Crews had four boats in the water, and 12 police cruisers were searching the banks of the river, he said.
Water rescue crews and a drone with thermal imaging technology were being used in an attempt to find the boy. Murray said on Saturday, search crews are still focused on the immediate area around where Darius was last seen, but that could change based on what they find.
Later on Saturday, police