As the search for a missing girl who fell into the river near Michell Ont., continues into its fifth day, crews are moving more downstream.
Police officers and fire crews from multiple jurisdictions were searching the Thames River between Mitchell and St. Marys Thursday.
“We’ve had crews that were moving south from Mitchell, and St. Mary’s crews that were moving north from St. Marys, they actually met up so we’ve been able now to walk both sides of the Thames River,” said West Perth Fire Chief Bill Hunter.
Hunter said while they continue to double- and triple-check all areas, on Thursday they were focused on the 26 kilometres along the Thames River between Mitchell and St. Marys.
The search for the unnamed girl began on Sunday after provincial police say they received a report that a child had fallen into Whirls Creek near Mitchell around 10:30 a.m. The creek flows westward toward Mitchell, where it joins with the southward Thames River.
First responders, including members of multiple OPP units, have been searching the creek and river for any signs of the girl alongside fire crews from the West Perth, North Perth, Perth East, Perth West and St. Mary’s departments.
“Since Sunday we have been rotating in crews from other stations in Perth County to give the West Perth firefighters a bit of a break so that they’re not out there every single day this week doing it. If the search extends into tomorrow we’ve got some firefighters coming up from Oxford County to help,” Hunter said.
“We’ve had offers of support from fire departments all around the province, even one fire department outside of the province contacted us and offered their services, so it certainly makes you feel good inside to know that we’ve got all this support behind us.”
FULL ARTICLE: https://globalnews.ca/news/8672622/missing-girl-thames-river-search-day-5-mitchell-ont/
