William Aylmer Gorrie was 52 when he vanished from Cross Bay, Manitoba, on July 7, 1973, during what began as a family fishing outing. High winds and growing waves forced his family to transfer onto an RCMP patrol boat; Gorrie remained in his own smaller boat intending to follow the patrol craft toward shore. As the patrol vessel accelerated to make headway, Gorrie fell behind and was about one kilometre astern when the officers lost sight of him.

An immediate search by the patrol boat and an aircraft found no sign of Gorrie or his boat. The RCMP notes that the boat itself was never recovered. Authorities state he is presumed to have drowned, but with neither remains nor the vessel located the disappearance has not been physically resolved and remains listed in the national missing-person database under reference 2014002167.

Anyone who was on Cross Bay that day or has information about the area, the Gorrie family, or sightings of a small missing boat is asked to come forward.