Winnipeg students found safe after disappearing during Ontario field trip

Two Winnipeg students have been found safe after going missing on a camping field trip near Kenora, after a nearly 24-hour search-and-rescue operation by Ontario Provincial Police.

Grade 10 students at Exchange MET School arrived at the Experimental Lakes Area run by the International Institute for Sustainable Development for a two-night trip Monday.

Twenty-seven students and three staff members were in attendance.

Local police were alerted shortly after 10 a.m. Wednesday that a 14-year-old and a 16-year-old from the group had gone missing from the area located roughly 80 kilometres east of Kenora.

The subsequent search involved OPP foot and marine patrols, as well as a helicopter, drone and K9 unit, acting Sgt. Joel Eppinghaus said in a news release.

One student was located at 3:18 p.m. that day and another was found at 8:56 a.m. Thursday, Eppinghaus said.

“Both youths were located safe, in good health (and) were transported to the Lake of the Woods District Hospital for precautionary evaluations,” he said.

Tony Kreml, superintendent of the Seven Oaks School Division, called the situation “extremely unsettling” for everyone involved.

“We’ve got an outcome that we were hoping for here. I would say that what we have is students, kids, (who) will be processing the situation,” Kreml said.

The division leader said he was made aware of the situation Wednesday afternoon and is working to confirm details regarding the timeline and how two teens were separated from the rest of the group.

Seven Oaks specialists and clinicians are providing support to the affected students and employees, he added.

The emergency resulted in the cancellation of the same trip — an educational outing to learn about the unique freshwater research facility — for Seven Oaks MET School students scheduled for Wednesday through Friday.

The second cohort was supposed to be dropped off on a bus that was taking the initial group back to Winnipeg. Instead, their vehicle picked up the Exchange group, and they all returned home.

“We are very relieved that both of the young people were discovered and returned to their families within 24 hours, thanks to the incredible hard work of the Ontario Provincial Police, with support from Seven Oaks School Division and the IISD-ELA team,” said Sumeep Bath, communications manager at IISD, in a statement.

The health and safety of those who work at and visit the site is of the “utmost importance,” Bath said, noting that staff receive first aid and other safety training, and contingency plans are in place in the event of an emergency.

This story was originally published in The Free Press. It is republished under a Creative Commons license as part of the Local Journalism Initiative.