Lake Mulwala: Shepparton teen Jack Bird feared drowned after boat capsized

The desperate search for missing apprentice Jack Bird has entered a fourth day at Lake Mulwala as devastated family members keep a lookout on the banks of the lake.

Police members have resorted to searching under moored boats on foot at Lake Mulwala as the search for missing Shepparton teen Jack Bird enters its fourth day.

With a rescue boat on the water and a police helicopter in the sky, two officers walked the outskirts of the lake on Wednesday morning, searching under and around a series of tied-up boats for his body.

Two family members, one with a pair of binoculars, were also searching beneath reeds and trees on the banks of the lake, hoping to find their missing boy.

They both declined to speak to the Herald Sun.

Jack Bird from Shepparton is the 16-year-old boy missing on Lake Mulwala.

A distressed P-plate driver with tears in her eyes also drove slowly around the lake, scanning the body of water with hopes she or the search crews would spot the missing apprentice.

Stronger winds and cooler conditions are likely to hamper search efforts on Wednesday, with Jack Bird’s grieving family still residing at The Sebel resort close by.

Shortly after 9am on Sunday, not long after Jack and a friend had set out for a fishing trip on Yarrawonga’s Lake Mulwala, near the NSW border, disaster struck.

The pair was thrown overboard when a wave hit their tinny, capsizing it.

A quick-thinking good Samaritan grabbed a flotation device from a nearby resort and swam out to help the two teens struggling to tread water about 200m from the shore.

The hero rescuer managed to pull Jack’s friend back to dry land, but by the time he went back to save Jack he was gone.

Witnesses on the shore reported seeing him disappear underwater.

Search crews resumed efforts at 5am on Tuesday with improved weather conditions.

A family member of Jack, 16, began searching the banks of the lake on foot in a heart-wrenching attempt to find some closure.

A man, who did not want to speak to the media, was seen walking the outskirts of the lake with two Victoria Police officers, visibly upset and holding back tears.

The aerial search continued through the morning and into the early afternoon with the police helicopter scanning the lake from above for hours.

There are still several boats searching the lake while police divers have continued searching the area underwater.

Calmer waves, clear skies and little wind is expected to assist authorities this morning as they continue to search for the Shepparton teen’s body.

Senior-Sergeant Nathan Ractliffe said police and emergency services would “search as long as we need to” in order to find Jack.

“We’ll do the best for the family to bring them some closure and bring it all ­together,” he said.

On Monday evening, strong winds, rough ­waters and rain hampered search efforts, with police scaling back operations.

Aerial searches were paused due to gusty winds, with just two rescue boats left scouring the area on the water. Police were using sonar to try to find him.

Jack’s family were on Monday night waiting at The Sebel Yarrawonga Silverwoods resort, just metres from where the boys entered the water.

Police and emergency services said they would ‘search as long as we need to’ in order to find Jack. Picture: Simon Dallinger

Dakota Rogerson, who met Jack at the Goulburn Valley Music Festival earlier this year, said he was loved by so many.

“Jack was a good guy, he always managed to put a smile on people’s faces,” she told the Herald Sun.

“He always had that Aussie accent when he spoke.

“He was a good mate to everyone.

“He will be missed.”

Dozens of Yarrawonga and Mulwala locals visited the lake throughout the day on Monday.

One man, who drove to the lake to see if search crews were having any luck, said the whole community was thinking of Jack’s family.

“Everyone has come down here at some point to check it out,” the resident said.

He said the tragedy could likely have been avoided if the pair was fishing last weekend instead, given there were “hundreds” of boats in the lake for a fishing contest.

The tragedy comes weeks after Jack won gold at the WorldSkills Turning competition in Wodonga, just six months after starting his ­apprenticeship.

The youngest competitor at the event, he beat third and fourth-year apprentices to claim the gold medal.

Strong winds, rough ­waters and rain hampered search efforts.

The driven teen had been nominated for the competition by GOTAFE teacher, John Farrow, who last week told media he saw something special in Jack’s rapidly ­advancing skills.

Jack said of the competition at the time: “It was challenging, because you had the clock ticking on you, but you just have to keep your head in the right place.

“I found it really enjoyable and met some really great people.”

Jack had dreams of one day running his “own show” and was already looking forward to the Worldskills Australia’s national championships in Melbourne next year, according to a report in the Shepparton Adviser this month.

Separate from his passion for engineering, social media depicted Jack as an avid trail bike rider with the teenager uploading several photos of himself riding dirt bikes.

The search is expected to resume on Tuesday.