Community identifies Misipawistik Cree Nation boater found dead, 2 others still missing
Two northern Manitoba boaters who are still missing last week, and another who was found dead over the past weekend, have been identified by their community.
A search continues for Rayden Dick, 28, and Delaney McGillvary, 29, Misipawistik Cree Nation said in a news release Thursday afternoon. Neither of those two men, nor their boat, have been found since they went missing last Thursday.
Searchers found the body of Tyler Ballantyne, 31, in the water last Saturday, the release said.
The three men — all of whom were from the northern First Nation, on the western shore of Lake Winnipeg — had set off together by boat on June 27 to lift nets on the lake, the release said. After they didn’t return home together as expected that night, local fishermen began a search the next day. Manitoba RCMP were also notified.
“We’re so close, and to lose someone unexpectedly like that is very hard,” said Ballantyne’s first cousin, Ryan Ault, who is acting as the family’s spokesperson.
![A man standing in a boat holds up a fish.](https://i.cbc.ca/1.7254978.1720141583!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/original_780/tyler-ballantyne.jpg)
“I can only imagine how hard it is on the families that are still waiting for closure, and hopefully we find our brothers soon.”
Ballantyne was a father of six children with a seventh on the way, the First Nation’s news release said. He was also a fourth-generation commercial fisherman and an active trapper and hunter.
“He was a quiet young man who had a very nice smile that lit up the room,” said Ault.
![A man holding up two fish.](https://i.cbc.ca/1.7254976.1720141922!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/original_780/rayden-dick.jpg)
Dick is also a fourth-generation commercial fisherman and the oldest of eight siblings, Misipawistik Cree Nation said.
McGillvary is a member of Opaskwayak Cree Nation, but was adopted and raised in Misipawistik Cree Nation, the release said. He’s described as an avid fisher, hunter and trapper, who also enjoyed spending time with family and friends.
![A man stands in front of mountains.](https://i.cbc.ca/1.7254981.1720144359!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/original_780/delaney-mcgillvary.jpg)
Ault said his family was close with both men.
“You get very close to everyone in the community. We’re intertwined through either marriage or through just connections of being in the community,” said Ault. “Delaney was a big part of our family, and so was Rayden.”
Search expands
RCMP spokesperson Tara Seel said in an email Thursday the search for the missing men is continuing via boats, as well as a helicopter conducting aerial searches. There have been around three to 10 boats searching at any time, according to the local RCMP detachment commander.
Kurt Mason, who is the education director of Garden Hill First Nation and is also a diver with the Island Lake-based Oogoogeek dive team from northeastern Manitoba, said members of the team have already been participating in the search. Other members, including Mason, were en route Thursday.
“Our team has been always helping other communities,” he said. “Our main goal is to bring closure to families that are missing their loved ones, regardless if it’s on land or in the water.”
![Submitted by Kurt Mason.](https://i.cbc.ca/1.7047978.1701660661!/cumulusImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/original_780/garden-hill-search-and-rescue.jpg)
Mason said Lake Winnipeg is different from the Island Lake region, given the lake’s size and its murky water, which presents a challenge for visibility.
This is the first time Mason has been part of a search outside the Island Lake area, but he said other members of the team were part of a recent search in Quebec for a missing child.
RCMP also said the Lloydminster Rescue Squad — a Saskatchewan-based non-profit organization — was also expected to join the search Thursday evening. The group has a boat and sonar equipment specifically intended for deep water searches, Seel said.
Ault also said he was told by RCMP a First Nation in Alberta also reached out to offer assistance.
Misipawistik Cree Nation Chief Heidi Cook previously told CBC News a teepee had been set up at the search base, along with a sacred fire that would remain lit until the other men were brought home.
Ault also said there are many volunteers helping in the long days of searching, starting as early as 6 a.m. and not coming back until 9 p.m. There are also people volunteering to make lunches for searchers, along with donations of food and money to buy supplies coming in, he said.
“When the community needs to come together, they do come together.”
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