Search for 3-year-old boy swept away by Grand River flood continues

The search for a three-year-old boywho was swept away in the floodwaters of the Grand River near Orangeville, Ont., continued on Saturday.

Divers are particularlyfocused on water south of the DufferinCounty 109 Grand River bridge, he said.

Police are now considering the search for Kadena recovery mission, adding thatit's unlikelythe childsurvived considering the conditions.

The search is expected to continue Sunday with the OPP's emergency response team conducting a ground search, a dive team searching underwater and a helicopter taking part, if it's available.

River remains unsafe

The river's water level dropped significantly by Saturday but has also made things more difficult for those searching for Kaden.

"The water level has dropped probably 10, 11 feet in the last three days, so a lot more shorelines exposed where it wasn't before," Nancekivellsaid, adding that some areas are being checked again.

The river was also still moving quickly by Saturday afternoonand floods have made the riverbanks unstable.

"The earth is compromised. You could step on it and it could give way on you," he said. "That's what we're telling people. Stay away from the water's edge. Look but don't be getting right down to the water because you could slip and fall."

The forecast calling for freezing rain on Sunday also concernedNancekivell, who is worried about people slipping into the fast-moving water. The freezing rain may also affect the helicopter.

Police have alreadyasked the public to stay away from the shoreline due to unsafe ice conditions, and Nancekivellsaid that large ice flows are alsomaking it difficult to look for Kaden.

Searching since Wednesday

Police said the boy's mother was driving on10thLine in the Township of Amaranth when she drove past a road closure sign early Wednesday.

Police said it was foggy at the time, butthey are not sure why the woman decided to go past the sign.

Since Wednesday,OPP emergency response teams and canine units have beensearching for Kaden.

On Thursday, police found a shirt that belonged to Kaden in the water close to where the van was recovered.

Nancekevillsaid the shirt was "not clothing he wore,"but it provided police an estimate as to how far hisbody may have travelled.

On Friday,about 30 people were out with the boy's family searching. Thefamily began their own search along 10th Line inEast Garafraxa.

Nancekevillsaid policehave been updating the boy's parents through out the search.

Rachel Kirk helped with the search on Saturday andsaidthe community wasshocked and wantedto come together to help. Hearing thehelicopters has been difficult for her.

"It's terrible to hear them, and it's alsoterrible to hear when they stop 'cause you think it's not going to be a good ending," she said. "We really just want to bring him home for his family so they can mourn."