RESCUERS have given up hope an Albury soldier who went missing canoeing on Lake Hume two days ago will be found alive.
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Police say they are now looking for the body of Corporal Gavin Fisher and have brought in sonar equipment to scan the lake bed near the area he was last seen.
The 33-year-old disappeared on Sunday morning while canoeing with two friends near Bonegilla in choppy conditions.
One man was later rescued from Dawson Island, while a woman was able to paddle safely to Kookaburra Point.
A scaled down search of the lake is likely continue up to the weekend, or until Cpl Fisher’s body is discovered.
Police say the soldier missing on Lake Hume helped his mate to safety before he disappeared while kayaking in “foul weather and choppy conditions” on Sunday morning.
Corporal Gavin Fisher’s overturned kayak and paddle were found near Dawson Island on Sunday afternoon, but a second day of intensive searching in better weather yesterday uncovered no further signs of the 33-year-old.
As 100 army personnel joined volunteers searching the banks around Bonegilla, it emerged the soldier from the South Bandiana barracks had high-level survival and fitness skills.
It was because of this that search co-ordinator, acting Sgt Felicity Bell, of the Water Police, said she still had hope Corporal Fisher might be found alive.
But she conceded the discovery of his empty kayak meant he had probably capsized in the rough conditions.
“I understand the 33-year-old is very fit and healthy and that puts him in the top 10 per cent of survivability in a situation like this,” Sgt Bell said.
She said Corporal Fisher set off from Kookaburra Point in his kayak with a man and a woman on Sunday morning, but never returned.
“The weather turned foul and they decided to take refuge on the island,” she said.
“The missing person assisted the surviving male to the island then the female and the missing man headed to Kookaburra Point.”
While the woman kayaker made it safely to shore, Corporal Fisher was last seen about 11.30am — two hours before the coast guard arrived to rescue his friend on the island who used his mobile to call for help.
Yesterday a group of Corporal Fisher’s close friends waited anxiously for news near the boat ramp at Kookaburra Point, along with military police and defence force personnel who sent up tents nearby.
Rescuers in a police helicopter with infrared camera and nine boats spent most of the day slowly searching the water around Bonegilla and north towards the Hume Dam wall where police say the strong current may have pulled Corporal Fisher.
Yesterday a spokesman from the Department of Defence said that the soldier’s family had been notified about the accident, and were receiving support.
A scaled-down search will resume at 7.15am tomorrow and finish at midday.
