A man from Grunthal is both grief-stricken and thankful to have answers after the disappearance of his brother earlier this week.

A snowmobile rider and father named Dan LeMay went missing in Whiteshell Provincial Park on Sunday and was presumed deceased by RCMP when search crews found sled tracks leading to a hole in the ice on Eleanor Lake near where he is thought to have been. While Dan's body has not yet been found or identified, his brother, Wayne LeMay, says he has accepted the situation.

“We all sort of had a sense on Monday already,” Wayne says. “When we saw the evidence of where he had likely gone through the ice, knowing how thorough the search has been, we’re really quite confident that this is how it turned out.”

dan lemayA GoFundMe campaign for Dan LeMay's three sons has been launched to help them deal with ongoing expenses.

Still mourning the unexpected loss, Wayne expresses gratitude to the countless riders, police officers, and search crews that volunteered their time and resources to help.

“Everybody who was out there over the past couple of days, they really left it all out on the trails and we’re thankful for that,” he says. “I don’t know that we can say it enough: ‘thank you’.”

Wayne says the outpouring of community support his family has experienced in recent days has been remarkable and has helped soften the blow of the devastating tragedy.

“We’re all doing okay,” he states. “We are hanging in there and have been impressed by the kindness and generosity of everybody.”

lemay searchPinewood Lodge, near Seven Sister Falls, was used as the staging area for search crews on Monday and Tuesday. 

Dan officially remains a missing person. Until his death is verified, life insurance policies will not properly take effect. RCMP members have indicated it could be as long as eight weeks before diving crews are able to go beneath the waters to search for the body. In the meantime, to take care of ongoing utility bills, property taxes, and other expenses for Dan's three sons, LeMay and his family have launched a GoFundMe page. Anyone interested in helping them financially is encouraged to visit the ‘Dan LeMay Support Fund’ page. 

“We see every message, every text, every donation that comes in, and if we don’t reply it’s not that we haven’t seen it or are not appreciative, it is just that we are still processing all of this,” says Wayne.