Search intensifies for fisherman, missing since January

Missing fisherman Lijun S. was last seen fishing in Saugeen River on Jan. 27, 2024. (Source: Saugeen Shores Police Service)

About a dozen people walked the shores and kayaked along the Saugeen River near Southampton on Saturday, looking for any sign of Lijun S.

The fisherman was last seen fishing in the river on Jan. 27 when an ice flow gave way upstream, sending a four-foot-high “ice surge” his way.

“There were a few other people fishing along the river that day, and they described it as almost inescapable. So, the fear is that Lijun got washed away by it,” said the organizer of Saturday's search Nick Oldrieve.

Oldrieve, who runs the Canada-wide missing person’s search organization, Please Bring Me Home, said this is the sixth search for Lijun over the past two weeks.

He said these kinds of searches bring together complete strangers with one common goal: to bring closure to the missing person’s family.

“If this fellow was a member of my family or friends, I’d like to know people would be out there searching for him, too. I feel terrible for the family, that they don’t have any closure,” said Nancy Harper, one of the kayakers searching the Saugeen River. 

Another fellow searcher who said she has previously lost people in her life joined the search as a way of "giving back."

“I also live along the Saugeen River so I’m always looking to see, sadly, if something comes by,” said Nicole Brown.

Searchers in Southampton, Ont. gather on June 1 to look for a fisherman missing since the start of this year. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)

It’s believed Lijun was wearing fishing waders when he went missing which may have filled with water and taken him to the bottom of the Saugeen River.

Wherever he is, Oldrieve said their search, which focused on the river from Denny’s Dam west towards Lake Huron, won’t stop until all options are exhausted.

“We’re just going to keep throwing anything we can at it until we locate him. We don’t want this to become a cold case,” said Oldrieve.

Anyone who finds any suspicious fishing equipment or clothing along the shores of the Saugeen or Lake Huron near Southampton is asked to contact the Saugeen Shores Police at 519-832-2500.