This help is overwhelming: search continues for missing boy, 13, in Nutimik Lake

Manitoba RCMP and volunteers are still looking for 13-year-old Aaron Au Ramirez five days after he and his 10-year-old brother, Maximo Au Ramirez, were believed to have drowned after being swept into Nutimik Lake on July 18. Maximo’s body was found above-water on Wednesday, and as of Thursday, boat, drone and diver crews were still searching the water for Aaron, who had jumped in to save him, according to RCMP. The 10-year-old was found by two volunteers and one of the boys’ uncles, said Allison Baker-Thiessen, who owns Nutimik Lodge with her husband, Harry Thiessen. The lake is located within Whiteshell Provincial Park,130 km east of Winnipeg. “When I received the phone call … I ran down here as quickly as possible,” she said. “We call out to the community to help bring him [Aaron] home. We need the eyes out there to get him home.” A statement from the Ramirez family, read at a Thursday press conference where the brothers went missing, described the pair as “faithful and kind.” “We’re going through a terrible, horrible and unimaginable pain for our children,” the letter stated, but the family has “so much gratitude for the people who are helping. “This help is overwhelming. It’s hard to understand how a community can be so strong for us and help us so much.” An article of clothing believed to belong to Aaron was found on Monday, but there has been nothing of interest since then, said Sgt. Cory Meyers. In French, Cpl. Ryan Cadotte, a Remote Pilot Aircraft System (RPAS) operator, told reporters that in the air, drones can see just below the surface of the water and the method serves as a way to let volunteers in boats know what’s going on, or if there are any areas of interest. Cadotte said that, unfortunately, this event is not unique for the area. “This is my third time back here,” he said, adding that by noon that day, he had already done three hours of flying.  “I just keep trying,” he said. The RCMP confirmed that 20 boats were being used in the area, and that its drone unit was searching nearby waterways. According to Baker-Thiessen, volunteers are beginning their days at 5 a.m. and only returning to the lodge, where the pair has been providing meals, at 11 p.m. “It’s absolutely overwhelming,” she said, of the support. “It’s part of the reason that me and my husband [keep going].” She said that he has struggled with the memory of similar tragedies near the lodge in the past. Two drownings have occurred at the same location since the lodge opened in 2021 — 38-year-old Harpreet Kaur Girn in 2025, and 12-year-old Usaid Habib in 2023. “We’re not going to stop,” Baker-Thiessen said. “This is something that’s going to hurt them [the family] for the rest of their lives.” Continue Reading