Kurt Mason was in a boat using sonar equipment to search Island Lake for a lost community member when a loud voice came blaring over his two-way radio.
“My radio was just going crazy … saying, ‘Bring your equipment, bring your diving equipment right away — we want you here,'” he said.
Officially, Mason is the education director for Garden Hill First Nation, in northeastern Manitoba. But much of his time is spent volunteering with the Island Lake search and recovery team, which includes the Oogoogeek dive team.
Oogoogeek — Anisininew for “people who go under water” — carries out underwater recovery after drownings to help bring closure to
