Body of father missing in Lake Alexandrina near Milang found

Police have made a grim discovery among reeds after a stop-start search effort that began last week.

The body of a father missing in the murky waters of Lake Alexandrina since Friday has been found.

Police Water Operations Unit and Sea Rescue Squadron officers on jetskis and a hovercraft discovered the man’s body just after 11am this morning.

The grim discovery was made among reeds off Lake Reserve Road, Mulgandawa, about 25kms east of Milang.

Victor Harbor Police will prepare a report for the coroner. Police said there were no suspicious circumstances.

The 31-year-old man from Brahma Lodge went missing on Friday but poor conditions and competing rescue mission have hindered search efforts.

Police using a hovercraft to search for a missing man on Lake Alexandrina. Picture: Supplied

The man vanished on Friday when he fell om an inflatable canoe while fishing with friends near Sheoak Road at Milang.

Police suspended the search Monday due to poor weather conditions after divers and rescue teams scoured the area east of where the men took to the water off.

It came after a weekend of fruitless efforts, with a search cut short on Saturday, when a separate rescue mission was launched on the Yorke Peninsula.

A 19-year-old friend from Elizabeth Vale, who also fell from the vessel was found alive shortly afterwards, 3.5km east from where they embarked. He was treated for hypothermia.

Surf life Saving SA do a search over the Milang area for a man who has gone missing off a Kayak on Friday. Picture: John Baker

Crews resumed their efforts again just after 10am on Sunday and ended about 2.30pm without a trace of the man.

SA Surf Life Saving President John Baker, who was personally involved in the search, said 28 volunteers covered an area of more than 430km on just the first day.

“It’s challenging, because it’s really sort of muddy water, so you don’t get good visibility at all,” he said of Lake Alexandrina.

Surf Life Saving SA’s search pattern on Friday: John Baker

“If you do a search across the metropolitan coast or along the sea, you can often see 5-10ft down, whereas out at Milang the visibility and water quality is really, really poor.”

Mr Baker said Surf Life Saving crews swiftly spotted the canoe.

“Within 10 minutes of being on scene we found the inflatable dinghy,” he said.

“That was a quick result, which was good, but then after that it was really challenging.”

SA Surf Life Saving assisted police with five jet skis, two jet rescue boats, a drone and the Westpac Life Saver Rescue helicopter on the first day of the search.

Acting Superintendent Gus Sickerdick, of the Hills Fleurieu Local Service Area, said the missing man was from Sri Lanka and had a wife and an eight-year-old daughter in Adelaide.

Due to a significant language barrier, police have been unable to find out exactly how the men fell out of the canoe, but they were not wearing life jackets, he said.

The two Sri Lankan men often came to the area to fish for carp, but were rarely seen approaching the water.