FORTEAU, N.L.
NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR
CANADA
The search for 24-year-old kayaker Charles Elie Mercier has been called off.
The young man from Sainte Mathilde in the LaMalbaie area of Quebec left Blanc Sablon for Forteau. Reports in various Quebec media say it was his intention to cross the Strait of Belle Isle to Newfoundland.
A statement Monday, Aug. 20, from the Joint Atlantic task force says after an exhaustive air, land and sea search by Maritime search and rescue and the RCMP, along with assistance from the Sûreté du Quebec, the case is being passed on to police as a missing persons case.
It was reported that a kayak similar to the one believed to have been used by Mercier was found near Forteau.