Deep Development Corp Viperfish® Underwater Deployment Unit (UDU™) utilizing high resolution sonar was instrumental in locating deceased male in Lake Winnipeg.

December 7, 2006 - Vancouver, BC, Deep Development Corp’s Viperfish® Underwater Deployment Unit (UDU™) was instrumental in assisting the Canadian Amphibious Search Team (CAST) to locate the body of deceased male from Lake Winnipeg on Sunday December 3, 2006. The individual was reported missing on November 7, 2006. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police performed an extensive underwater search for the individual but was forced to terminate it when the lake began to freeze. The family of the missing man contacted CAST and asked them to continue the search. Ken Lugg, one of the volunteer CAST team members, said their motto is “When All Else Fails”. “We will continue searching after the authorities are forced to terminate their search”.

“This search was especially harsh due to the frigid temperature, which hovered about -31 °C (-24 °F) during the search of about 1.6 hectares (4 acres) of harbor” said Lugg. The UDU eliminated the need for a diver to search the entire harbor. This would have taken the team 6 or more days to accomplish. The UDU cleared large areas of the harbor minimizing the search/target confirmations to five dives over a day and a half. Holes were cut in the ice and the UDU™ was used to identify possible targets.

“The high resolution imagery the UDU™ produces allows us to classify a submerged target by size and shape” said Alex Wong, Viperfish® Group team member. After identification, CAST then splashed a diver and swam an arc sweep pattern under the ice focusing on the pre mapped targets. Using the UDU™ and underwater communications the surface support team were able to constantly monitor the diver and direct him to a target. “Not only was the UDU™ instrumental in helping us identify the submerged body, but the ability to watch a diver in real time significant enhanced diver safety” said Lugg.

The Viperfish® UDU™ provides high definition sonar imagery in a rapidly deployable fully integrated package. With a range of 450 feet the UDU™ provides sonar imagery similar to that of medical ultrasound equipment allowing an untrained operator to easily interpret the image.

About CAST

The Canadian Amphibious Search Team (CAST) is a professional search and recovery team dedicated to assisting individuals, justice departments and government agencies world-wide. CAST is comprised of over fifty professional men and women from various emergency services backgrounds, including forensic investigators, coroners and underwater investigators. CAST has successfully closed cases where conventional search agencies have had to abort their efforts prematurely. This has resulted in these agencies contracting CAST to complete their more difficult cases. www.castcentral.ca