As the search for a missing girl near Mitchell stretches into day five, stuffed animals have been tied to a nearby bridge.
Firefighters and members of the OPP have been in the Whirl Creek area since Sunday after they received reports of a missing 10-year old.
Since then several fire departments and police services outside of the area have not only helped in the search but have also provided mutual aid as members of the Perth East and West Perth Fire Departments assist in the search.
The search is scheduled to resume Thursday.
West Perth/Perth East Fire Chief Bill Hunter says the search has been extensive and has covered a wide area already.
"We've had crews since Sunday, searching the Whirl Creek, which empties into the Thames River. So we've had crews working south from Mitchell along the Thames, and we also have St. Marys Fire Department working the Thames shoreline north from St. Marys, and we're hoping we will meet up with them sometime this afternoon. That would be the entire waterway from the original search point all the way to St. Marys. Numerous areas have been searched two or three times now, but we are trying to push toward St. Marys right now."
Chief Hunter says the resources that have been put into the search have been immense, as fire crews work alongside the OPP and get assistance from other crews locally.
"We certainly appreciate everything the OPP has brought to the table. The helicopter, the canine unit, ground search, the water crews with search and recovery, and then also all the fire departments that have been helping West Perth out. We've had requests from all over the province to send firefighters our way. So far we've been just using firefighters from within Perth County, but all the stations in the county are chipping in and we've got lots of boots on the ground."
As the search goes into day five on Thursday and approaches day six, Hunter says obviously the situation is taxing not just physically on the crews, but emotionally, as well, given the circumstances of what they're doing.
"As firefighters, we're used to responding to an emergency, dealing with it, and leaving. Typically our incidents don't last days. But that's the case here, and everyone is holding up well so far. Not just physically demanding, but mentally and emotionally, too. We do have our own resources available, we have our own peer support team, and that team was actually notified on Sunday just to be available. Our chaplain, as well, he's been with us since Sunday, so just having those resources available for our firefighters is certainly important. We also really appreciate the community and them letting us do the search and do what we need, and them helping out with meals and whatever other things they can think of, we really appreciate that."
The search for a missing 10-year old girl continues in Mitchell today. OPP uniform members and specialty units are working with @PEFD_WPFD in a coordinated push to locate the child. Here's a look at this afternoon's search effort. #PerthOPP ^dr pic.twitter.com/a7g3YyW72R
— OPP West Region (@OPP_WR) March 9, 2022
Through our Provincial #MutualAid plan we have additional coverage from all of our neighbouring departments.@northperthfd @townofstmarys @huroneastfire @SouthHuronFd @cityofstratford @OwenSoundPolice @PEFD_WPFD @ONFireMarshal https://t.co/y1kNfdj6v9
— William R. Hunter (@ChiefBillHunter) March 9, 2022
