Latest news with #RandyLavigne
CTV News
24-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
Expert believes rip current contributed to drowning of man in Port Burwell, Ont.
Nate MacIntyre plans to paddleboard from Port Stanley, Ont. to Port Burwell later this summer to raise awareness about Rip Current Information Project. (Brent Lale/CTV News London) The recent drowning of a father in Port Burwell, Ont. has underscored the urgent need for public awareness around the dangers the Great Lakes pose. 'My entire life, I've always been told undertow was a concern and we're finding now that rip currents are more of a concern,' says Nate MacIntyre, 43, a lifeguard with more than 18 years experience. MacIntyre was in Port Burwell hours after the drowning, helping police and fire fighters try to understand where they could find the body of Randy Lavigne. He believes saw many areas of rip currents which likely contributed to claiming the life of the Woodstock father. 'Rip current is a focused current of water that's pulling swimmers far offshore and far away from shore where they're left in deeper water,' said MacIntyre. 062425 A police boat goes through the choppy water in Port Burwell, Ont. hours after a man went missing in Lake Erie. (Source: Brent Lale/CTV London) Lifeguard Nate MacIntyre is hope to raise awareness about his RIP Current Information Project. (Brent Lale/CTV News London) 'Often people struggle. They want to swim right back to shore immediately, where they know it's safe and they're swimming against the current. Some of the best advice could be counterintuitive, which is relax, flip, float, follow, flip onto your back, float, conserve your energy. You're going to need your energy. Allow the current just to take you.' Due to strong currents, and a recent drowning, the City of Windsor closed Sandpoint Beach. 062425 A police boat goes through the choppy water in Port Burwell, Ont. hours after a man went missing in Lake Erie. (Brent Lale/CTV News London) MacIntyre believes society is well past the point where the public needs education and clarification of terminology. 'Out with the old and in with the science evidence-based education,' he says. 'We can't keep going with undertow here or riptide there. We don't have tides on the Great Lakes, and undertow isn't really causing the problems. But rip currents are a real concern that are focused currents of water carrying people and debris and sediment offshore and leaving you in deeper water.' Tuesday morning he made a delegation to Elgin County Council about the RIP Current Information Project. 'We started the RIP Current Information Project to help educate the public and educate governments about what's happening,' said MacIntyre. 'We're going to try to establish the campaign here in Elgin County and I had a really great support from all of the councillors and the Warden about amplifying the message and getting the word out to the public this year.' 062425 Nate MacIntyre spoke to Elgin County Council on Tuesday June 24, 2025 about the Rip Current Information Project. (Brent Lale/CTV News London) The Lifesaving Society of Ontario estimates for every fatal drowning, there are 4-5 non-fatal drownings. Those are just the ones that are reported. 'It's one of those things that everybody in the community feels it,' says Briar McCaw of the Elgin County Drowning Prevention Coalition (ECDPC). 'It stems from people who have previously lost children or family members to drowning, to people who work in emergency services and hospitals, businesses. It's not just we're losing a life, we're taking mental, social, emotional, even financial tolls and bringing these things in. Anything we can do to save a life we should take advantage of.' The ECDPC has been working with MacIntyre to push education. 'Whether you're coming to visit the beach for the day, how can you best learn the conditions, how to protect yourself, but also how can we collaborate with local community services?' says McCaw. 'The RIP Current Information Project did a great presentation to some of the fire departments, educating them about the dangers about the science. It's been really incredible to kind of join this collective knowledge together. How can we understand it all, collaborate towards the same goal of having to reduce and prevent drownings in our region?' Later this summer, MacIntyre will paddle from Port Stanley to Port Burwell. The 35 km challenge hopes to raise further awareness about Great Lake RIP Currents.
CTV News
23-06-2025
- CTV News
Body of missing swimmer recovered in Port Burwell, Ont.
Provincial police have recovered the body of a swimmer who went missing in Lake Erie Sunday afternoon. Family members confirm Randy Lavigne as the man who saved his 13-year-old daughter in distress before going under the water and failing to resurface. Lavigne, 35, a Woodstock native and Toyota employee, is being hailed as a hero who lost his life. Lavigne and his daughter were swimming Sunday when they started to struggle. Samaritans say the current and rough waters pulled them out too far. 'The young girl and her dad were swimming and having a good time, then happened to get out too far,' Brittany Chessell told CTV News via email. Chessell and her friend Melissa were the first to respond to the swimmers in distress. 'The father got dragged out further than the daughter. The daughter told her dad she was getting tired and struggling. He tried to get back to her, eventually being able to reach her he was so tired he took one last breath and pushed his daughter with a wave in hopes it would bring her in closer to shore. He unfortunately went under after his last breath and did not resurface.' The search for his body lasted nearly 24 hours before he was recovered. 'We just like to take this opportunity to say thank you, those good Samaritans,' said Sgt. Ed Sanchuk of West Region OPP. 'I'd also like to take this opportunity to send all my sincere condolences to all family members and friends that are affected by this tragedy.'
