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"A Family Tradition for 132 Years" PORT PERRY STAR - Tuesday, January 20, 1998 - 5 The Wait Community pitches In during long vigil by frigid lake shore By Rik Davie Port Perry Star While police divers braved the frigid waters of Lake Scugog Sunday afternoon in an attempt to recover the bodies of two missing snowmobil- ers, a teenage boy and girl passed under police lines and placed roses on the shore, a tribute to a friend lost. Last Thursday night two snowmobile riders plunged into the icy lake when they hit an open stretch of water between Sunrise Beach and Caesarea. One of the rid- ers, 20-year-old Mark Ward, was able to make it to shore and summon help. As Port Perry firefight- ers attempted to search for the other rider, they watched horrified as two more snow machines approached the opposite side of the large rift, and plunged in as well. oe TW » Firefighters rushed to the site and were able to res- cue 35-year-old James Riley, of Washburn Island. District Fire Chief Dave Ballingall, who witnessed the second accident, said the fact firefighters were on scene ensured the sur- vival of one of the riders. "In a way, one man's demise was another man's rescue," he said. "We were there almost right away but we could not get to the second man in time. People have to realize that you can't last long if you go in this water." As word of the tragedy spread, relatives and friends of Christopher Raines, 20, of View Lake, and 31-year-old Shane Cobb, of Woodville, began to gather at Sunrise Beach on Scugog Island, where police established a base for their recovery effort. They came to comfort each other and wait for \z: RIK DAVIE/PORT PERRY STAR A grief-stricken Mark Ward trudges away from the lake's edge Sunday, after being given the snow suit he shed in the water during his attempt to make it back to shore. The body of his friend Chris Raines was found that day. Metro Police divers prepare to enter the frigid waters of Lake Scugog Saturday. They made numerous dives into the murky water in search of police divers to finish the grim task of locating the bodies. And many came simply to try to help, and offer quiet support. "I just felt I had to be here if they found him (Raines)," said one observ- er. Saturday morning after Metro Police arrived with their air-boat to help Durham Police divers, area residents began to pull together to do what they could to help the fam- ilies and police officers as their vigil in the bone- chilling cold stretched into its second day. Onlookers pitch in Tim Byers of Port Perry arrived with one of his portable toilets, and set it up. "It may seem dumb," he said, "but I knew they would need one here, and it's what I could do to help so I did it, that's all." As the day wore on, peo- ple arrived with coffee and sandwiches for police divers and their crews. One Metro Police officer expressed surprise at the number of local people offering help. His Durham Police counterpart smiled at him and said, "that's how they do things around here." Scugog Regional Councillor Ken Gadsden and his wife Margo arrived at the site with a huge pot of homemade soup that divers used to warm them- selves between dives. Police gave up their search at nightfall Saturday, but returned to the site early Sunday morning to find residents ready to assist for the next day's recovery efforts. Island residents even supplied police with a secure place to store their Zodiac rubber boat when the search Saturday had to be called off as daylight faded. One Sunrise Beach res- ident brought a barrel, and fire wood seemed to appear from nowhere. Teens at the scene kept the barrel filled and burn- ing for warmth as they huddled in small groups and talked quietly. A protective cordon of family and friends sur- rounded the next of kin of Christopher Raines on Sunday morning as police zeroed in on the area that Scugog firefighters believed his snow machine entered the water. Media at the site were not encour- aged to breach the family's grief, and for the most part, they did not. MP Alex Shepherd and his family stood vigil with the Raines family. Mr. Shepherd knew Christopher Raines. "He is a great lad, and this is a tragedy," he said. "My wife and I are here to do whatever is necessary to help his family through this ordeal." Mr. Shepherd had words of praise for the police divers. "lI am a certified diver myself and I know what is involved in making just a normal dive, under nor- mal conditions. I have only the greatest respect for the skill and bravery it takes to dive into frozen water like we have here." Coffee warms divers By 11 o'clock Sunday morning pots of hot coffee and boxes of donuts were offered around to anyone feeling the cold as the crowd watched the distant 'police boat, waiting for some sign that divers had located Mr. Raines' body. In an almost cruel parade, snowmobilers con- tinued to roar past the search sight, just feet from the deadly stretch of open water. One rider even stopped at the beach's edge and stared curiously at the crowd of tear filled eyes gazing out at the lake. Shortly after divers returned to the lake for JEFF MITCHELL/PORT PERRY STAR victims of the two accidents, but it was Sunday before they had success. The remaining body was pulled from the lake Monday afternoon. their second dive of the day, the news that every- one on shore had expected --and dreaded -- came. Police divers located the body of Mr. Raines about 100 feet from the spot his machine entered the water. Family , friends weep As word spread through the crowd, onlookers began to cry and hug one another. The strain on the faces of police officers was plain as they gently car- ried their grim burden from the boat to the police command vehicle where, out the sight of prying eyes, Ron Raines identi- fied his son for police and local coroner Dr. Robert Allin. At the same time, mem- bers of OVERT (Ontario Volunteer Emergency Rescue Team) arrived at police request, with their "cadaver dog', named Jesse. The dogs are trained to find bodies under unusual conditions and Jesse jumped in the rescue craft to try and locate Shane Cobb, on the opposite side of the open water from the location of Raines body. Again, daylight gave out before officers could locate the body. The blast of air sent out by the police air boat is immense and as the boat came in for the final time Saturday, it picked up the roses left on the shore of the lake and dropped them only a few feet from the orange pylon marking the spot where two of the snowmobiles entered the frozen waters. 's RIK DAVIE/PORT PERRY STAR Two weeping teens make their way to the shore to Sunrise Beach, where they placed a bunch of roses by the water's edge.