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Two Kingston men drown after canoe capsizes

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A camping trip has ended in tragedy after two Kingston men died when their canoe capsized on Bob’s Lake Saturday evening.

Justin Thomas Butts, 29, and Daniel MacDonald, 23, both of Kingston, were canoeing with Butts' three-year-old son at approximately 8:45 p.m., 100 metres off Mica Point, when the canoe capsized.

“It was in the middle of the water, and it looks like they just lost balance, and it just capsized,” Const. Roop Sandhu, media relations with the Frontenac OPP, told the Whig-Standard Sunday.

Sandhu said there were no outside factors or obstruction, such as rocks or logs in the area, that may have caused the capsizing.

“For some reason, they ended up going underwater, and they did not resurface,” Sandhu said. “One was possibly a good swimmer, but that is unconfirmed yet ... we’re not too sure what happen at that point, all we know is that they were all in the water.”

According to police, neither man was wearing a life-jacket, and they had been camping on a property nearby. The three-year-old was wearing a life-jacket and was rescued by bystanders.

“They went in with a boat from their dock, because there are cottages on both sides of the point, so they were able to get a boat out and pull him out of the water,” Sandhu said.

Frontenac OPP, Frontenac Fire and Rescue, and civilians conducted a search for the two men, but they could not be located before the search was halted due to lack of daylight. The OPP Underwater Search and Recovery Unit from Gravenhurst was called in to attend the scene Sunday.

At approximately 1 p.m. Sunday, Butts' and MacDonald’s bodies were recovered from the water.

The three-year-old has been released to family members after being taken to Kingston General Hospital for observation.

Sandhu said he believes Butts and MacDonald were friends.

steph.crosier@sunmedia.ca

Twitter.com/StephattheWhig

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