River search for boy's body halted

The search for six-year-old Nathaniel Thorassie, who fell through the ice of Winnipeg's Red River, has been called off.

Winnipeg police divers have been searching the frigid water near the Disraeli Overpass in the city's Point Douglas neighbourhood almost daily since Saturday.

On Wednesday, the police said they've done all they can. They have covered a 15-metre-wide area of the river, as well as fringe areas, with no luck.

Sgt. Rob Riffel, who heads the dive unit, said it was a difficult choice to call it off, but continuing like searching for a needle in a haystack.

The tragedy has "taken it's toll" on the emergency personnel involved in the search, he added.

"It's tough. it's a six-year-old kid just before Christmas, and a lot of my guys have small children."

Nathaniel and his brother, Ralph Chartrand, 10, were playing on the thin ice when they fell through on Saturday.

His brother was rescued by a passerby, but Nathaniel could not be found.

Rescue crews searched the area on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday. Dangerous conditions kept them out on Sunday.

Mclaine Flett, mother of the two boys, told CBC News that her family is having a difficult time accepting the drowning.

"We've been having a hard time sleeping. We went by the river [Monday] night. We went to pray," she said, adding that Ralph did what he could to help his younger brother.

"He tried his best … but he was getting already, having that hypothermia. He couldn't hang on to his brother anymore. And he just went down."

Ralph was treated in hospital and released on Monday.