Police resume search for body of 9-year-old boy in Lake Erie

Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is resuming its search for the body of a nine-year-old boy who fell into Lake Erie over the weekend.

The child has been identified by a family friend as Alex Ottley.

Debbie Vallee says Alex was playing with his 10-year-old sister and an eight-year-old boy in a park Saturday afternoon. She says the kids ventured over to the lake to look at something when the youngest boy fell in the water.

She says Alex jumped into the frigid lake in an effort to save his friend.

The 10-year-old girl ran up to the roadway to flag down a vehicle for help.

OPP says a man and woman from the vehicle went out onto the ice to the water’s edge and were able to rescue the eight-year-old boy but could not find Alex.

The U.S. Coast Guard was called in to help and used a helicopter to search the area from above.

Officers with the OPP Emergency Response Team scoured the shoreline but could not locate the boy and the search was called off for the night.

On Sunday morning, OPP arrived back on scene but discovered a large ice shelf had formed on the lake overnight making it too dangerous for divers to go underwater.

The status of the search was later changed to a recovery.

The loss of the child has devastated the close-knit community. Many residents came out to lay flowers near where the child went missing.

OPP have arrived at Peacock Point in Nanticoke and will resume their recovery mission for the body of 9 year old Alex Owens. A family friend says the boy went into the water to try to help his friend who fell in. A couple was able to save the boys friend, but not him. pic.twitter.com/QNkalhfUos

— Kelly Botelho (@botelhok) February 17, 2020

Correction: The boy’s last name was erroneously reported as Owens. The child’s last name is Ottley.