STATE OF VERMONT

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

VERMONT STATE POLICE

       

CASE#: 21A200999

RANK/TROOPER FULL NAME: Detective Sgt. Angela Baker

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 / death investigation

VICTIM: Pierre Dunningan

AGE: 62

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

 

SUMMARY OF INCIDENT

Authorities have recovered the body of a kite surfer from Canada who was reported missing earlier this week on Missisquoi Bay in Lake Champlain.

 

The search for Pierre Dunningan, 62, of Bromont, Quebec, resumed mid-morning Saturday, March 27, 2021, with Vermont State Police troopers conducting shoreline searches. At about 12:30 p.m., a civilian called state police to report seeing something floating in Missisquoi Bay off the west side of Church Road in Swanton. Troopers including members of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Program responded with assistance from state game wardens with the Department of Fish & Wildlife, and members of the Swanton Village Fire Department. Firefighters deployed their boat and recovered a man's body in open water less than 100 yards from shore.

 

The victim has been identified as Dunningan. His body was transported to the Chief Medical Examiner's Office in Burlington for autopsy to determine the cause and manner of death, and to confirm identity. Canadian authorities were notified, and they informed the victim's family.

 

Per standard procedure, a death investigation is being conducted by the Vermont State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations. The death does not appear to be suspicious. Anyone with information that may be relevant to this case is asked to call Detective Sgt. Angela Baker at the St. Albans Barracks at 802-524-5993.

 

 

***Update No. 1, 5:25 p.m. Friday, March 26, 2021***

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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