Search of South Sask. River for missing woman suspended pending new information

A search of the South Saskatchewan River for a missing woman has been suspended.

According to Saskatoon Fire Department chief Doug Wegren, Saskatoon police got a report at around 11:50 a.m. on Friday, saying a woman and a dog were in the river.

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Wegren said water-rescue teams were sent out on the river, 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.

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.

By mid-afternoon, the search-and-rescue efforts were using sonar to expand the search area, but neither the woman nor the dog was located.

On Tuesday, the City of Saskatoon said the search continued over the weekend without success, and the search has been suspended pending any new information.

The river has been flowing much faster than normal this summer following water relases from Lake Diefenbaker, prompting numerous calls for caution. (Taylor MacPherson/650 CKOM)

The river has been flowing much faster than usual this summer following releases of water from the Gardiner Dam on Lake Diefenbaker. The increased flow rate has prompted numerous calls for caution around the river.

On June 20, Adan Vargas Salvador, a 32-year-old man from Mexico, went missing after going over the weir while riding a jet ski. A body tentatively identified as Salvador was pulled from the river on July 2, near the Clarksboro Ferry.

–with files from 650 CKOM’s Libby Gray