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Christmas eve search turns up nothing

An air and water search on Christmas eve near Masset ended empty-handed.Masset RCMP received a call at 4:00 pm Dec. 24 about an overturned boat and persons in the water leaving Masset Inlet.The search was not easy."A lot of debris and a lot of garbage, including crates, were spotted floating because of the high tides, but there were no signs of any vessel, no sign of any people missing from the village," said Steve Church with the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Victoria, "the police were checking for missing people, there was nothing after an extensive search and due to deteriorating weather, the search was called off."Both the Canadian and US Coastguards were involved, as were numerous fishing vessels from Masset. RCMP cannot confirm whether it was debris that was noted in the water or whether in fact it was a person or persons.So far, there have been no reports of missing persons, and the police investigation is continuing.If you have any information regarding this incident, please call Masset RCMP at 626-3991.Masset RCMP offer a special thanks to fishermen Stan Hansen and Stan Hale of the Haida Princess and Sgaan Dutheil and Telell Waldhaus of the Lasqueti Titan who played a key role in the search.