Search crews quickly expanded their perimeter downstream from the initial point of entry due to the river's high flow rate.
"It is a river with a strong current, a high flow. The victim, most likely, drifted.
So we expanded our search area. The place where we concentrated our efforts is a kind of cove.
There are two outlets.
>>> Police Rescue 78 Animals from Cruelty in New York
We posted firefighters on both sides and searched as best we could in the body of water," added Jean Côté.
As night fell, operations shifted toward shallower shoreline sections before specialized aerial technology was deployed.
"There are deep holes in the area where we were searching that can go up to 15 or 20 feet deep.
With nightfall, we called on the police to fly over the area with a drone equipped with night vision technology and a thermal sensor.
After this flyover, the search is likely to be suspended. If we still have not found anything, it will restart tomorrow morning.
The situation could eventually require calling in SQ divers," added Jean Côté.
Local police confirmed that search crews returned to the shores before 8:00 a. m.
on Monday, with specialized divers requested as backup.
"Responders are looking for a man who fell into the river. Intensive searches were triggered with specialized equipment and drones.
Unfortunately, the man has not yet been found. Plausibly, the man slipped from a rock while he was fishing.
Due to a downpour that had occurred, the rocks were slippery.
He reportedly fell into the water and was quickly submerged," said Tanya Lapointe, communications officer for the Saguenay Police Service.
Police noted that despite calmer surface waters in certain spots, the victim was unable to swim well.
>>> DWP Restarts Disability Living Allowance Transfers to PIP
Due to ongoing recovery efforts, a section of the trails at Rivière-du-Moulin Park remains closed to the public on Monday, with Sûreté du Québec divers scheduled to join the operation.
