Canoe trip survivor saw two friends go under
Police divers yesterday recovered the body of one of two young canoeists presumed drowned after their boat capsized on the weekend in a Richmond Hill lake.
Since Sunday morning, a marine unit has scoured the cold, murky waters of Lake Wilcox, near Bayview Avenue and North Lake Road, for 19-year-old Alon Kulik and 21-year-old Daniel Montazernezam.
Police would not confirm the identity of the body pulled from the lake, but officers said the search would continue for the second man this morning.
The two friends disappeared under the water at about 1:30 a.m. on Sunday. Another friend, 17-year-old Jory Bieniak, survived after he swam about 100 metres to shore, said police.
None of the young men was wearing a life jacket. Inspector Norm Miles of York Region police said alcohol was a factor in the accident.
Several people had gathered Saturday night to party at the cottage where Mr. Kulik lived. After everyone else had gone, the trio took the canoe out.
The water was calm but Mr. Bieniak later told his mother, Cathy, that the canoe tipped over, perhaps when they all leaned to one side.
Mr. Bieniak turned over on to his back and swam toward the shore, calling for help, counting his strokes. He yelled to his friends to swim to the shore. He told police after that he saw them both go under. Police said the water was 10C and 20-feet deep.
Mr. Bieniak was treated in hospital for hypothermia and released. His mother said he is in shock.
Mr. Bieniak and Mr. Kulik were students at Alexander Mackenzie High School in Richmond Hill. They had become close in the past few months, spending every day together, hanging out at the cottage.
Mrs. Bieniak did not know Mr. Montazernezam but recalls her son telling her that he was a good person, that he once spent a half hour trying to rescue a raccoon.
Joe Da Costa, a 51-year-old courier whose father-in-law rented the cottage to the Kuliks in September, said the young men had been warned before not to use the canoes because they did not belong to them.
“[Alon was] a quiet kid,” Mr. Da Costa said. “But his friends like to party.”
A memorial for Mr. Kulik was set up in the yard with a recent photo of him taken at the cottage. His loved ones rested a fishing rod against the memorial, because
Mr. Kulik and his father were supposed to go fishing on Sunday afternoon. They also put a baseball and a glove near it because he loved the sport. He was starting college in the fall and had told one of his friends that he wanted to be a gym teacher.
“Alon was a free spirit beyond words [and] compassionate with a great deal of integrity,” said Dean Colford, the boyfriend of Mr. Kulik’s mother. “This was a young individual full of spirituality. He was very sensitive, a bright kid. He had an incredible future.”
Tags: 10c, alexander mackenzie, alexander mackenzie high school, baseball, bayview, canoe, canoes, good person, half hour, hypothermia, jory, kulik, lake wilcox, murky waters, pot, raccoon, richmond hill, second man, strokes, Trip, two friends, venue, york region police
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Tuesday, May 20th, 2008 at 12:59 am under