Meridian Source - May 20, 2021

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Thursday, May 20, 2021

VOLUME 3 I ISSUE 47

MERIDIANSOURCE.CA

SEE PAGES 13-19 FOR THE SPRING INSIDE OUT HOME & GARDEN SPECIAL SECTION

Eight-month search ends with sigh of relief Lloyd Rescue Squad helps bring closure to family of lost fisherman TAYLOR WEAVER

EDITOR

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After nearly eight months of search efforts, on May 12 the Lloydminster Rescue Squad (LRS), using their airboat, successfully located the body of 24-year-old Matthew Hamm, bringing some much-needed closure to the family. On Sept. 23, 2020, Hamm went fishing on Weyakwin Lake with the hopes of bringing supper home for his family, something he had done many times before. Hamm would never return to the dock. “That evening (Sept. 23, 2020) they reported him missing, so the next day they initiated some searches and did find his boat at the north end of the lake, but they never found him,” said Chief Norm Namur, LRS. Namur explained the HEART (Hutterian Emergency Aquatic Response Team) team from Manitoba was

called in for some days to do side scanning with their sonar. “They searched and they searched and no body was found.” Lloyd Rescue would return to Weyakwin Lake, which is approximately 8,000 hectares in size, on a number of occasions to continue the search after making a promise to the family to do so. “We actually started to form quite the relationship with the family and we promised them back in the fall we would come out, and after consulting experts in the field, we knew this would be a prime time for us to locate the body.” Members of Lloyd Rescue returned to the lake on May 11 to do an aerial search using their drone and thermal imaging to clear off certain areas. They then decided to use their airboat to go to the end of the lake to ensure everything had been secured, meaning

the area is cleared for any articles of clothing or things of that nature.

We didn’t even make it through the first pass when we noticed an anomaly in the water. We turned the boat around, and we realized we had located Mr. Hamm.

After taking a look at the geography, the point of which the individual was last seen, and where his boat was found, Namur explained, using GPS coordinates deputy chief Ryan LeBlanc decided they would finish the day with a grid search. “We decided to follow an east-west pattern, and we didn’t even make it through the first pass when we noticed an anomaly in

the water. We turned the boat around, and we realized we had located Mr. Hamm,” said Namur. “We were pretty relieved for the family that the body had been found and that we were able to bring him home for closure. That was a really comforting moment for us, and we are so grateful we could do that for the family.” The Hamm family was grateful for all of Lloyd Rescue’s hard work and acknowledged the importance of these specialized teams. “We, as a family, would like to thank the Lloyd team for coming out. Without search teams like them, families would be lost,” said Hamm’s family in a statement to CTV News. “Until a person goes through something like we have, people don’t realize how valuable these teams are. These teams work on donations only, and we

Supplied Photo

The body of 24-year-old Matthew Hamm was recovered from Weyakwin Lake by the Lloydminster Rescue Squad last Wednesday.

would be thankful for any donations made to them, so they will be there for the next family that needs them.” Namur praised the versatility of the squad’s multi-purpose airboat during the search as it’s capable of transitioning from water to ice, to slush,

to snow, “and without that airboat, we never would have been able to recover the body.” “It’s a wonderful piece of equipment th a t w as d o nate d 20 years ago and it’s been so instrumental in finding families’ loved ones that have gone missing.”


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