Diver Down

The Detroit Free Press: Canadian, U.S. officials search water near Blue Water Bridge for missing diver

Canadian and U.S. rescuers continue to search for a diver missing from near the Blue Water Bridge since Monday afternoon.

An instructor and two students went into the Canadian side of the St. Clair River near the Blue Water Bridge Monday afternoon, and only two of the three men resurfaced, U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Justin Westmiller said today.

The St. Clair River can have lousy visibility and strong currents, not to mention lake freighter traffic coming through to add to the difficulties of the diving there.

Let's hope this ends with a rescue rather than a recovery, but after having searched this long it looks like the authorities are moving into the recovery phase.

Update:  It is now confirmed that the body recovered in the St. Clair River is Winelmus Bardoel, 48, the missing diver from Ingersol, Ontario. RIP.  Not the hoped-for ending to the situation.

The Case of the Cancelled Czech

The Detroit Free Press: St. Clair fisherman catches Czech man trying to swim into U.S.

St. Clair County fisherman reeled in a man from the Czech Republic who investigators say was trying to illegally swim from Canada into the United States.

“I’ve caught some big things on this river but never anything this big,” Brad Pederson of Algonac said in a news release about Wednesday’s 11:40 p.m. catch off his boat in the St. Clair River between Marysville and Algonac.

You do have to slightly admire anyone with the gumption to try to swim across the St. Clair River - the current is a real kicker and it is not exactly at spa temperatures with the water hanging around the 60s.

But, instead of returning him to the Canadian side from whence he came, taxpayers will now pony up to return him to the Czech Republic:

The man was arrested for entering the United States at a place other than a designated port-of-entry and is being sent back to the Czech Republic

This creates some bad incentives for visitors to Canada from foreign lands - run out of money? Just start swimming towards the USA and get a free ticket home!