On February 15, 2020 police were called to Peacock Point, which is located about 50 km south of Hamilton.

According to reports, police were called because a nine-year-old boy and an eight-year-old boy were sitting on a patch of ice about 25 feet from the shoreline when a wave came up and swept the two males into the water.

A 10 year old girl who witnessed the event was able to run to the roadway and flag down two people who were passing by. The pair were able to pull the eight-year-old boy out of the water but the nine-year-old boy never resurfaced.

The young boy, who has been identified by a family member as Alexander Ottley, is the brother of the 10 year old girl who flagged down help.

OPP began scouring the area attempting to locate the boy but after 11 days of searching had decided to call off their search. “Despite extensive search of Lake Erie and shoreline, search and recovery efforts were unsuccessful,” police said on Tuesday night. “Search efforts are completed.”

Officers said this was an “extremely difficult decision” for them to make. Police will continue to periodically scan the shorelines in the future after weather conditions improve.