DRYDEN, ON — An American fisherman has been identified as the victim of a weekend boating accident in Northwestern Ontario.
Ontario Provincial Police say 71-year-old David Nitzel of Rhineland, Wisconsin was pronounced dead at the scene of the incident on Clay Lake, about 25 kilometres north of Vermilion Bay.
Nitzel and a companion had been fishing near rapids when their boat capsized late Saturday afternoon.
The other party was able to hang on to the overturned boat and call out for help from employees of a nearby lodge.
OPP chartered a helicopter to conduct an aerial search for Nitzel.
While this was in progress, his body was located by members of the Dryden detachment.
A police news release did not indicate whether the deceased was wearing a lifejacket, but it noted that each year the vast majority of victims of fatal boating accidents failed to use a lifejacket or personal flotation device.
