Around the Lakes
By Stephen Weir

September 1999

Police receive vital underwater search equipment from recording artist, Loreena McKennitt

The personal tragedy of one of Canada's most successful recording artists has resulted in the Ontario Provincial Police being given a Side Scan Sonar System and an Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV). Two-time Juno award winner Loreena McKennitt donated the equipment to the police force's Underwater Search and Recovery Unit in memory of three friends, including her fiancé, who died last year in a Georgian Bay boating accident.

Richard and Ronald Rees and Gregory Cook were kayaking on Georgian Bay last summer. All three were experienced boaters and when they did not return, police and volunteers began looking for them. A large hunt, including an extensive underwater search recovered their boats and later a body. It is believed the men were lost due to freak bad weather conditions.

After learning of the accident Ms. McKennitt drove to the Bruce Peninsula where the search was being conducted. "There was nothing I could do. I kept watching the divers go in and out of the water looking (for the bodies). After 3 days of difficult diving, they still had found nothing," she told Diver Magazine.

" I think it was at that point that I asked the police what they needed to make the search process more successful and possibly save other families the anguish ... They told me a side scan sonar unit could make a difference," she continued. "When tragedies occur, and particularly preventable ones, one is left with little beyond the hope that one can assist in changing things for the better in some way."

Ms, McKennitt went out and purchased the one piece of equipment the OPP recovery unit has wanted but hasn't had the funds to acquire. The Sea Scan that she donated to the Force is a high resolution side scan sonar system designed to locate large and small objects underwater in zero visibility.

Just after the Diver Magazine print deadline, Loreena McKennitt was preparing to present the Ontario Provincial Police with a Shark Marine multipurpose underwater remote operate vehicle (ROV).

"This ROV will be the perfect partner for the Side Scan sonar that the Underwater Search and Recovery Unit received last year," said Sergeant Wayne MacPherson, the OPP dive coordinator. "In some instances, it is too dangerous for a diver to enter the water. That's when the Sea Scan sonar is utilized to locate a target. We will now have the ability to send in the ROV to make the recovery."

Ms. McKennitt has done more than simply donate equipment to the police. She and relatives of the lost boaters have created the Cook-Rees Memorial Fund For Water Search and Safety. In support of that Memorial Fund she embarked on a two week national press campaign in May to highlight the need for water safety

As well, the proceeds from her first live recording Live in Paris and Toronto will be donated to the Memorial Fund. The double CD set is not presently available in stores but can be purchased exclusively by mail order from Ms. McKennitt's record company at 800-361-7959 or on the web at http://www.quinlanroad.com/.