The quiet life of 63-year-old Mervin Winsor tragically ended after he failed to return home from bird hunting in Notre Dame Bay.

            The Triton resident left in his 19-foot open boat at around 7:30 a.m. Sunday, November 15, but failed to return around 11 a.m. as expected. The RCMP contacted the Canadian Coast Guard at approximately 3:20 p.m., and his boat was discovered near the League Rocks area about 20 minutes later. 

There was a widespread search for the missing man. The Coast Guard ship, Sir Wilfred Grenfell and a Cormorant Helicopter from Gander were deployed throughout the evening, but the helicopter and local boaters were forced back due to heavy rain and poor visibility. Members of the Springdale RCMP detachment and Maritime Search and Rescue also assisted. The search continued throughout the following morning, but had an unfortunate ending.

“The man was located shortly before 11 a.m. (Monday, Nov. 16),” said Constable Mike MacKay of the Springdale RCMP detachment. “A local boater found him, and it was some distance away from where the boat was found.”

Mr. MacKay said the investigation into what happened is ongoing. The boat was found in fair condition.

Pete Winsor, a nephew of the hunter, says his uncle was the type of person who kept to himself.

“He wasn’t a very outgoing person, but he had a wide range of family and friends,” he said. “He grew up near where the old fish plant is today. There were two or three houses and that’s where he was born and raised. It is like its own little town outside of Triton.”

The senior had made his living as a fisherman.

            “I would say he was the most experienced fisherman in Triton. He fished all of his life, for at least 40 years of more. He had a wife and raised two children (both girls), and had three grandsons,” he said.

            Mr. Winsor said about 20 to 25 local boats from Triton and Robert’s Arm assisted the coast guard in the search. A friend of his, who wasn’t involved in the search efforts, stumbled upon the man while bird hunting in another vicinity, he added.

            “We’ll probably never know for sure what happened to him,” said Mr. Winsor

“He wasn’t close at all to where the boat was found, and his boat was stood straight up, almost vertically.

“But the guy knew everyone in Triton,” he said. “He was a shy type of person and would spend a lot of time out by his stage. Many people would go there for a chat or an entertaining story.”