Search resumes

Police continued the search for a missing teenager Wednesday morning.

Divers with the OPP’s underwater search and recovery unit began Day 2 of the search on the Kaministiquia River for 15-year-old Jordan Wabasse, who has been missing since Monday, Feb. 7. The search team arrived in the city around 3 a.m. Tuesday and has been searching an area of the river located near the James Street swing bridge.

“The OPP divers have been in the water today and have been searching some of the area, and that will continue for the rest of today,” said Thunder Bay Police Service spokesman Chris Adams Wednesday afternoon.

The underwater search began after police found evidence that Jordan could have wandered out into the river.

The search for Wabasse has been a co-operative effort from the Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service, the Anishinabek Police Service, OPP, Thunder Bay Police Service and RCMP.Adams said the underwater search team faced a number of challenges as they continued the search. The water’s frigid temperature and visibility were among the two greatest challenges divers were forced to deal with.

The search had less of an impact on area motorists than it did on Tuesday. The James Street swing bridge, which was closed during the Tuesday search, remained opened on Wednesday. Police cautioned motorists that the bridge could be closed during some points of the day.

“The bridge would most likely be closed when a recovery is made, or recovery of any other potential evidence,” Adams said.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Adams said he could not comment on what the search team may or may not have found so far. The continuation of the underwater search would be assessed on a day-to-day basis, he added.