The University of Calgary is mourning the death of a student-athlete who died in a canoeing accident at Moyie Lake near Cranbrook on Tuesday morning.
In a statement, the university said it was ‘shocked and saddened’ to hear of the sudden passing of Andrew Milner, a 19-year-old kinesiology student and a guard with the Dinos men’s basketball program.
“Andrew was an outstanding student and a national champion on the basketball floor, but most importantly he was a tremendous young man, and his loss will be felt deeply by all members of the Dinos community,” reads the statement.
Milner, from Antigonish, N.S., was in his second year with the university and the basketball team.
Cranbrook RCMP and emergency personnel were called to Moyie Lake in response to an overturned canoe. One man was able to swim to shore after the boat capsized, however, another man remained missing.
RCMP members, Police Dog Services and Search and Rescue personnel responded to the scene, conducting extensive patrols of the shoreline. An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (Drone) was utilized during the search, and Police Dog Services also found some items belonging to the missing man.
The RCMP Underwater Recovery Team was called in, which found and recovered the missing man in the water.
Police and the B.C. Coroner’s Service continue to investigate.
trevor.crawley@cranbrooktownsman.com
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