A Calgary man’s body was recovered Aug. 11 after he fell off a tube and drowned in Chestermere Lake five days earlier.
The body was located at about 3 p.m. after dive teams from the RCMP’s “E” Division Underwater Recovery Team out of B.C. expanded their initial search area. A male’s body was located with sonar technology a few hundred yards north of the where crews first began looking.
The man, identified as 33-year-old Richis Bondo Katumbay of Calgary, was not an experienced swimmer and never re-surfaced after falling off of an inner tube being dragged behind a boat. He was not wearing a life jacket.
The boat, full of Katumbay’s co-workers and friends, turned around when he disappeared under the water and one person jumped into the lake to try and find him, but was unsuccessful.
When dive teams were called in, they first tried sonar to try and locate the man following the drowning. This failed since the lake was so muddy and full of weeds, according to RCMP spokesperson Patrick Webb.
“They also used an underwater camera, but it was murky,” said Webb.
The divers implemented a hand search on the 2.6-square-kilometre lake after sonar failed the first time.
“It’s a shallow dive, but it’s very arduous work,” said Webb.
On Aug. 10, RCMP requested the use of a special weed-cutting boat.
The boat removed excess weeds floating on the lake’s surface, but the cutting mechanism was not activated during the recovery.
“The most important message in this whole thing is life jackets do exactly what they’re designed to do — save lives,” said Webb.
“If there’s any doubt at all if someone should be on the water, it’s better to do the right thing and not take a chance.”
Chestermere Victims Services is assisting friends and family of Katumbay following his death.
“The residents of Chestermere have been very supportive during this investigation,” said Chestermere RCMP Staff Sgt. Glenn Henry.
“This tragic incident hopefully will serve as a reminder of the importance of using all personal safety equipment while participating in water sports.”
Katumbay, originally from the Congo, had seven children and lived in Canada for 11 years. He will be buried in the Congo once his body is recovered.
