The search for three-year-old Kaden Young, who went missing after the minivan he was travelling in with his mother was swept in the Grand River near Orangeville, Ont. on Wednesday, has entered its fourth day.
Dufferin OPP spokesperson Const. Paul Nancekivell told Global News Saturday that helicopters were searching along the shoreline from Dufferin County 109 south to Bellwood Lake, while dive teams were searching the river. Nancekivell said the OPP Emergency Response Team, as well as a canine unit were also on scene.
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Recovery efforts underway for 3-year-old-boy swept away into Grand River
Police said Young’s mother was driving southbound on 10th Line when she failed to stop at a road closure that had been in place. The woman drove into the floodwater and when she tried to back up, the van was swept into the river. Nancekivell said the woman was able to pull the young boy from the car after it went into the river, but she lost her grip and the boy was swept downstream.
The woman was taken to hospital for treatment of hypothermia. She has since returned home.
Nancekivell said police have been constantly updating the family throughout the search.
“She’s very distraught, as you can realize — it’s a horrible tragedy,” Nancekivell said. “She has a lot of family support right now, we’re trying to do the best we can and we’re trying to make sure she’s updated before anybody else of any developments we find.”
Since Wednesday, police have found articles of clothing from the van, but Nancekivell said they were not items being worn by Young at the time of the incident.
“When the vehicle was headed downriver, one of the doors was still open so a lot of the loose items not worn by the child were swept out of the vehicle,” he said. “So we’re finding different items and that’s also giving us clues as to how far the items have traveled down the river and where he [Young] may be.”
WATCH: Couple witness minivan swept up in Orangeville Grand River before boy went missing.
Over 100 community members also showed up to help in the search.
“We’re keeping at it, we’re not giving up,” Nancekivell said. “We’re hard at it, we’re throwing all of the resources we can at it to do our best to bring this young lad back to his family and bring closure to this tragic incident.”
The search will continue till about 6 p.m. Saturday night, at which point, if Young is not found, police will reevaluate to determine a plan for Sunday.
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