DEBERT, N.S. — RCMP divers have temporarily suspended a search of some Debert ponds for evidence related to the disappearance of Peter Anthony (Tony) Walsh.
After painstakingly searching the silty, weed-covered bottom of several ponds in the Rayner's Pit area on Thursday, the RCMP’s H Division Underwater Recovery Team in Halifax moved out late in the day with plans to continue the search at a later date.
RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Lisa Croteau said the team did not specify when the search will resume.
Walsh, 35, has been missing since Aug. 23, when a witness saw him get into a truck in Truro. His abandoned 1999 Chrysler Sebring was later discovered outside a Truro business.
“Investigators have received some tips and information from the public and we are following up on that information,” said Cpl. Jennifer Clarke.
One tip, received after the RCMP issued a second media release on Sept. 23, “indicated that we should check the area around the Debert Cemetery,” she said. “We conducted a ground search of the area on September 10 and 11 with negative results, and are now checking the small bodies of water in the area.”
On Thursday, two sets of divers simultaneously searched separate ponds, carefully working their way through nearly a half meter of bottom silt and heavy masses of chickweed that clung to face masks and other diving gear.
“I’ve got a stick here and I’m trying to move this stuff,” Const. Scott MacDonald said, from underwater through a communication rope (cable) linked to the surface. “It’s sluggish. I feel like I’m barely moving,” he said. “It’s not that bad once you get out beyond the shoreline. It’s just dealing with this chickweed or whatever it is.”
The communication rope enabled the divers to talk with another officer on the surface. And for each diver in the water, there was another fully suited “safety” diver stationed at the shoreline ready to enter the water if the other diver gets into trouble.
“You go through air a lot faster working in stuff like this,” said MacDonald, after returning to the surface and taking over the safety position from Const. Ben Savage.
With a water temperature of 17 C, MacDonald said he was “actually sweating” as he worked through the heavy weeds.
“It would be literally like walking through a cornfield,” he said.
Const. Thomas Murphy, who was holding the communication rope and serving as the divers’ anchor point, said the goal is to basically conduct a thorough search without leaving any gaps.
Underwater visibility on Thursday was restricted to about three metres with each overlapping pass limited to about one metre of pond bottom.
“He’ll search the area like a pendulum swings and at the end of every pattern we’ll let out three feet and he’ll do it again,” Murphy said. “So, he’s continuously covering just three feet more of the area, he’s overlapping every time he goes back and forth.”
If there is anything to be found, the pendulum pattern is a proven search method, he said.
“We can find shell casings using this kind of method,” Murphy said.
In the deeper portions of the ponds, the dive team used a Zodiac boat with two officers on board to serve as the anchor point.
Clarke said the RCMP continues to encourage the public to contact them with any information that could help to determine Walsh's whereabouts and they "want to ensure the public knows that we will follow up on all tips that are received."
Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact Colchester District RCMP at 902-893-6820. Should you wish to remain anonymous call Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers toll-free at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), submit a secure web tip at www.crimestoppers.ns.ca, or use the P3 Tips App.
