A 70-year-old Port Hardy man is dead following a boating mishap and Mounties are asking for public help in an effort to learn how the tragedy occurred.
Police said in a release the man was discovered unconscious, clinging to the bow rope of an upside down, 16-foot boat floating on the west side of Hardy Bay.
A crewmember aboard a commercial vessel traveling into Port Hardy saw the overturned vessel between Duval Point and the Tsulquate River about 5:30 a.m. Thursday morning.
The Coast Guard was dispatched and pulled Robert Davis from the water and transported him to the Port Hardy wharf, where he was then rushed to hospital.
Attempts to resuscitate Davis were unsuccessful.
RCMP said the senior was not wearing a PFD or a lifejacket and the cause of the incident is still under investigation.
Port Hardy RCMP are asking anyone with information about this incident to call the detachment at 250-949-6335.
Read more in next week’s North Island Gazette.