The father of the 19-year-old man who's missing and presumed drowned in the Richelieu River said Wednesday he couldn’t be prouder of his son.
The search for Remy Nolet continued Wednesday morning, as friends remembered a selfless teenager who has not been seen since allowing a friend to take the only life jacket on a small canoe that capsized Monday.
Search crews combed the waters of the Chambly Basin but could only find the young man's boat and life jacket. The search was called off about 8:15 p.m. Wednesday and will resume at 9 a.m. Thursday.
The teen’s father, Bobby Nolet, spent another day waiting for news from SQ divers. He said he wants his son’s body found as quickly as possible.
“Kids are supposed to bury the parents and not the other way around,” he said.
Rescuers said Tuesday afternoon they have spotted a mass of about five or six feet with a sonar device, but could not confirm what it is.
Seventeen-year-old Catherine Desautels, who described Nolet as her "best friend," told CTV Montreal that they had taken the canoe to go to a pizza restaurant in Chambly and the waters become choppy in high winds on the way back.
One of the two lifejackets floated away and they attempted to share the one. Nolet eventually realized that they were too heavy to share the single life jacket and allowed her to take it as he tried to make it back to shore on his own.
"Remy stood up and we capsized. We just had time to grab one lifejacket. We were in the water. We tried the two of us to hold onto the life jacket but it wasn't working. So he said 'Cat, put on the jacket. Put on the jacket, Catika."
"Afterward there were large waves that separated us and I couldn't see him anymore. I called out 'Remy, it's okay, I'm going to seek help. It's okay.' And I went," she said.
The girl managed to get back to shore at St. Mathias after about an hour in frigid 12C waters and was treated for hypothermia.
Two men came out to help get her out of the water, one tossing a rope and the other leaping in to help. By the time they reached her, she was unconscious. One of the men warmed her up until an ambulance arrived.
Desautels' father Daniel told CTV Montreal Wednesday morning that he did not know the identity of the men but would like to thank them face to face if given the opportunity.
“Without his help we wouldn't have known that Remy gave part of his life for Cat,” said Nolet’s father.
If there’s one comfort, he said, it’s that he feels pride in his son.
“What he did for Cat, for me it'll be easier to (handle) because for me he's my hero he was already my hero,” he said.
17 year old girl who survived tipped canoe in 12 deg water. Her BF is missing. "He's my hero, he saved my life" pic.twitter.com/SZmQeWKgqm
— Rob Lurie (@RLurieCTV) May 5, 2015
