In late spring 1967 a fishing trip near Pointe du Bois, Manitoba, ended in tragedy for 34-year-old Ernest John Pawloski. On the morning of May 28 he was by the river with his common-law wife and a 9-year-old boy when his fishing rod began to slip into the fast-moving water. As he reached for it he lost his footing and fell into the current; his wife slipped on the rocks trying to save him and was pulled in as well. The boy ran for help and returned to find both adults gone.

A body matching the woman was recovered a short distance downriver, but extensive searches by air, land and water failed to find Pawloski. He was described as 5 feet 10 inches, 176 pounds, with brown hair, brown eyes and a scar on the left side of his forehead; he wore a white shirt and light-colored pants that day. The investigation concluded he was presumed drowned, though his body was never recovered.