Rice Lake claims sixth victim this summer

An 18-year old teenager drowned in Rice Lake after his canoe tipped Sunday morning. He was not wearing a life jacket, police said.
Alex Rutherford, a recent graduate of Cobourg District Collegiate Institute West, was last seen about 200 metres from the north shore of the lake, between Jubilee Point and Cow Island, directly north of Gores Landing. The canoe capsized, dumping Rutherford and a 16-year old friend into the water. The boys tried to swim to shore, but turned around and swam back to the canoe. Rutherford was unable to hang on and slipped under the water.
A search that day was unfruitful, but when the OPP Underwater Search and Recovery Unit began looking Sunday around 10:30 a.m., the body was found within five minutes.
He was spending the weekend at a cottage on Cow Island with a group of friends from Cobourg and Colborne. The mother of one of the friends owns the cottage. She was there when the accident occurred.
This is the sixth person to drown on Rice Lake this summer. In all cases, the victims were not wearing life jackets.
This latest tragedy spawned a great deal of discussion. Reports indicate there may have been alcohol involved, but print media reports confirm this was not the reason.
The tragedy will strike very hard among young people in Cobourg, particularly at the high school where Rutherford attended. It is a tight knit community and with school starting, the loss will be felt strongly next week when students return.
But, the most obvious point is people need to wear life jackets in a boat. Simple. There is not any marine safety resource that does not remind us of this fact. And yet, far to many adults fail to put them on.
This is a senseless tragedy. It is easily preventable.