On July 28, 2024, at approximately 11:50 pm, Prairie Mountain RCMP received a report of four missing youths, aged 16 and 17. Police responded immediately and were able to determine that the four youths, three females and a male, had gone tubing down Shell River, north of Inglis, Manitoba, without telling anyone, and had not yet returned.
RCMP located one of the youth's vehicles at Inglis Beach and one of the other youth's vehicles on Provincial Road 589 at the bridge. It was believed they would have started tubing at Provincial Road 589 with the goal being to end up at Inglis Beach. The youths had not been heard from since 2:00 pm on July 28, 2024.
Searchers with RCMP and local fire attended as did Emergency Medical Services. Local crop planes circled the area, local farmers on ATVs assisted, the fire department had their boat in the water, RCMP divers, RCMP Police Dog Services, RCMP Search and Rescue, and the Office of the Fire Commissioner were en route, and the RCMP drone was up in the air.
At approximately 4:00 am, the drone located three youths along the river through thermal imaging. They were not physically injured. The fourth youth, a 16-year-old female, was still missing. The drone found the deflated pink flamingo tube she had been using, about a kilometer up the river from where the others were located.
A crop duster went back up in the air, the boat targeted the search in that area, and the fire department began a ground search where the tube was located. Officers drove around the area with sirens on, and the fourth missing youth came out of the bush to the sound of the siren at approximately 9:30 am. She had minor physical injuries and was transported to hospital.
None of the youths had been wearing life jackets or personal floatation devices, and it appears that alcohol was involved.
"This ended much better than it could have," said Corporal Brett Church of the Prairie Mountain RCMP. "If you are heading out on the water, you need to tell someone where you are going to be and the route you plan to take. It is also important to recognize that water is unpredictable and that a floatie is not a life jacket; a floatie will not save your life if you get into trouble on the water. Please be careful out there."