KITCHENER -- Stratford police say that crews have recovered the body of a Waterloo Region man who went missing while snorkelling at the St. Marys Quarry.
They made the announcement on Monday afternoon via Twitter.
Police have not publicly identified the deceased.
Officials with the Town of St. Marys said he had been there with his family when he did not return.
"He was seen in the water snorkelling and then unfortunately did not come up," said Const. Darren Fischer of the Stratford Police Service.
The search for a 63 year old man from KW is underway. The man went snorkelling at the St. Marys quarry yesterday afternoon and never returned. Underwater search crews from Stratford police and OPP continue their search today pic.twitter.com/ahrD8b0La2
— Stephanie Villella (@CTVStephanieV) August 24, 2020
The man's family alerted authorities around 4:30 p.m. when they first noticed he was missing.
Firefighters, paramedics and police were all called to the quarry to assist in the search.
Lifeguards who were working at the time attempted to search for the man but were not successful.
The fire department also brought in their rescue boat.
Police say the quarry is very deep and murky, conditions that made their search more difficult.
With no success in finding the man Sunday night, an OPP dive team arrived on Monday morning to help police, Stratford fire crews and paramedics in the search.
The quarry will be closed indefinitely as Town officials work with the police and the coroner’s office to determine next steps.
“Our thoughts are with the victim and his family. Flags will be flown at half-mast at municipal facilities on Monday out of respect to the family,” read a statement from the Town in part.
Police say the circumstances surrounding the incident are still under investigation but that they do not consider his death suspicious.
In a news release issued on Monday evening, officials said that the man's body was taken for an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
