STATE OF VERMONT

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

VERMONT STATE POLICE

CASE#: 21A200999

RANK/TROOPER FULL NAME: Lt. John MacCallum (northern watch commander)

STATION: St. Albans Barracks                     

CONTACT#: 802-524-5993

DATE/TIME: 3:50 p.m. Thursday, March 25, 2021

INCIDENT LOCATION:  Missisquoi Bay, Swanton, Vermont

INCIDENT TYPE: Missing Person

MISSING: Pierre Dunningan

AGE: 62

CITY, STATE OF RESIDENCE: Bromont, Province of Quebec, Canada

SUMMARY OF INCIDENT

As of 5 p.m. Friday, search efforts for missing Canadian kite-surfer Pierre Dunningan have been suspended for the day due to weather. Crews plan to resume the search, weather-permitting, over the weekend.

***Initial news release, 12:05 p.m. Friday, March 26, 2021***

The Vermont State Police is coordinating search efforts in northern Vermont for a missing Canadian man who was last seen kite-surfing Wednesday afternoon, March 24, 2021, on Lake Champlain. At about 3:50 p.m. Thursday, March 25, Quebec Provincial Police requested assistance from the Vermont State Police, which has devoted numerous resources to the search in coordination with local, federal and provincial authorities.

The missing kite surfer is Pierre Dunningan, 62, of Bromont, PQ, Canada. He was last seen at about 4 p.m. Wednesday kite-surfing in Missisquoi Bay, which straddles the U.S.-Canadian border in northwestern Vermont. Provincial police spoke to a witness Thursday who reported seeing Dunnigan near the mouth of the Missisquoi River, on the Vermont side of the border. Dunningan is reported to have not been wearing a wet suit or a life jacket. Lake conditions are mostly open water with spotty areas of ice.

Searches in Canada included a helicopter and divers. Vermont State Police joined the search with troopers checking shoreline in the area where Dunningan was last reported seen, along with deployment of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (drone) Program. The Vermont National Guard supplied a helicopter, the North Hero Volunteer Fire Department responded with an airboat, and the Swanton Village Fire Department searched using a flat-bottom boat. Search efforts were unsuccessful Thursday and ultimately suspended for the night. The search resumed Friday morning, March 26, with authorities on both sides of the border operating on the shore and on the water. Current weather conditions are unfavorable for searching by air.

Anyone with information that may assist in this search is asked to call the St. Albans Barracks at 802-524-5993.

Further updates will be provided as the search continues.

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