Quebec provincial police say the search for a four-year-old girl who fell in a river in the province's Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region resumed this morning. Quebec provincial police headquarters is seen in Montreal, Wednesday, April 17, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
DOLBEAU-MISTASSINI, Que. – Quebec provincial police are again pausing a search for a four-year-old girl who fell into a river north of Quebec City after today’s efforts failed to locate her.
Rescuers have been searching for the girl since she went through a fence while sledding and fell in the Mistassibi River, around 242 kilometres northwest of Quebec City, on Friday afternoon.
A police search began Friday and has continued since with diving teams and helicopters, but they have been called off each evening for security reasons once darkness fell.
Police say the search will pick up again tomorrow morning, though a police officer and vehicle will stay at the scene throughout the night.
Spokesman Sgt. Hugues Beaulieu said earlier in the day police were using a drone which can access areas that are difficult to reach on foot.
He said the search had been complicated by the winter conditions and the terrain of the riverbank, which requires divers to use a crane to access the water.
Beaulieu wouldn’t say whether police still hope to find the girl alive.
The child was sledding with her mother when she slipped through a barrier along the riverbank and ended up in the water.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 24, 2023.
