Sgt. Ed Sanchuk says 2 found dead in Lake Erie near St. Williams

A father and his 7-year-old son were found dead in lake erie near St. Williams after they failed to return from a boating trip on Monday afternoon. Norfolk OPP and the Canadian Coast Guard’s Port Dover station responded near Townline Street around 3:45 p.m. on Monday.

The victims were a 53-year-old man and a 7-year-old boy from Norfolk County. Sgt. Ed Sanchuk said both were wearing life jackets, and the Canadian Coast Guard recovered both bodies from the water after a passing boater spotted them.

Norfolk County response

Police said the pair were reported missing near Townline Street in St. Williams, a small community along Lake Erie just west of Turkey Point. Sanchuk said officers and coast guard crews moved into the area after the report came in.

St. Williams sits on the Lake Erie shoreline, and the search centered on the water near the community after the missing boater report. Police have not identified the father and son by name.

Search for the boat

Police are continuing to search the lake for their boat. That leaves the recovery at one point in the case and the vessel at another, with no public account yet of how the father and son ended up in the water.

The pair were found by a passing boater while crews were responding on Monday. For anyone trying to account for the trip, the immediate next step is the search for the boat and the circumstances that put both victims into the lake.