Saskatoon firefighters during a search-and-rescue operation on the South Saskatchewan River on July 31, 2026.

These two boats spent about an hour searching the South Saskatchewan River during a search-and-rescue operation on July 31, 2026. (Libby Gray/650 CKOM)

Saskatoon river rescue now recovery, says fire chief

By Libby Gray Jul 31, 2026 | 5:16 PM

First responders filled the riverbank along the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon on Friday afternoon as boats, drones and divers searched for a person who had gone into the water.

According to Saskatoon Fire Department chief, Doug Wegren, a report was made to Saskatoon police around 11:50 a.m. on Friday that a woman and a dog were in the river and had reportedly entered from the east side.

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I spoke with bystanders who saw the boats launch before 12:30 p.m., which means it’s been about an hour that they’ve been out on the water searching. pic.twitter.com/V9RyvOgZiw
— Libby Gray (@libby_gray9) July 31, 2026

“Initial reports indicated a dog was also in the water and self-rescued,” the City of Saskatoon reported in a release. Saskatoon police said no description of the woman or dog could be provided at the time the initial report was made.

Wegren said the fire department responded with water rescue teams to the boat launch at 33rd Street, near the Saskatoon Weir, and proceeded to the place the woman had last been seen, north of the north Circle Drive bridge adjacent to Spadina Crescent and Ravine Drive.

Bystanders reported seeing two boats launch before 12:30 p.m. on Friday to 650 CKOM.

Saskatoon police, firefighters and paramedics during a search-and-rescue operation on the South Saskatchewan River on July 31, 2026. (Libby Gray/650 CKOM)

Search operations by the fire department were conducted on the water and along the riverbank while Saskatoon police also searched the shore on the east side of the river. Those search efforts continued as dive operations began, Wegren said, which lasted about an hour.

Two drones, one from the Saskatoon Police Service and one from the Corman Park Police Service, were being operated to search the area from the sky during this time.

A police drone seen during a search-and-rescue operation on the South Saskatchewan River on July 31, 2026.

A drone operated by police along the South Saskatchewan River during a search for a woman and her dog in the water on July 31, 2026. (Libby Gray/650 CKOM)

By mid-afternoon, the search-and-rescue efforts were using a sonar to expand the search area.

Neither the woman nor the dog has been located, Wegren said.

“The first hour is what we’re always striving for,” the chief told members of the media along the river during a news conference on Friday afternoon.

“With the river being moving water, we try our best to find the individual in that first hour.”

The sonar will help searchers look for anomalies under the river water. Rescue operations will be working on a grid pattern to find those anomalies and then fresh dive teams will be brought in to search those specific areas.

Wegren said that would involve the Saskatoon Police Service and was happening around 2:30 p.m. on Friday.

When asked about the potential outcome of the search, Wegren commented, “we are hopeful it’s (a) rescue, but it would be a recovery for sure.”

The city said that more information would be released if it became available.

Police reported the investigation is continuing and are asking anyone who might have witnessed the incident or who might have information to call 306-975-8300.

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