Loved ones mourn man, 26, killed in Labor Day canoe mishap

Loved ones mourn man 26 killed in Labor Day canoe

The 26-year-old Port Stanley man killed in a canoe mishap on a St. Thomas lake is being remembered as an animal lover and avid outdoorsman who put his friends and family first.

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Ryan Davies, a plumbing apprentice for a Kitchener-based contractor, died after the canoe he was in capsized on Lake Margaret on Labor Day.

“He enjoyed hunting, hockey, lacrosse and fishing. He loved his dog Lucy and was always spending quality time with those he loved and cared for,” Davies’ obituary states.

In a short post on social media Saturday, Davies’ mother, Linda King, thanked St. Thomas police and firefighters, calling her son “the most amazing human.”

Davies, who was originally from Georgetown, is survived by his parents, siblings, grandparents and extended family, his obituary states. A memorial service has been set for Oct. 5 at the Port Stanley Legion.

Firefighters search Lake Margaret for a missing canoeist in St. Thomas on Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (Derek Ruttan/London Free Press)

Three adults were canoeing on Lake Margaret – a small lake nestled in a residential neighborhood in the south end of St. Thomas – when the canoe tipped over at about 8 am on Labor Day.

Two of the boaters were rescued and taken to hospital, but a search for the body of the third canoeist went into the evening. None was wearing life jackets when the canoe capsized, St. Thomas police said.

Lake Margaret is a manmade body of water on the former site of a gravel mine. The lake is between one and three meters deep with a six-meter area in the center.

Davies’ death was the 13th water-related fatality in Southwestern Ontario this summer.

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