Wallace Keith Barker

1922 - 1980  (58 years)

• Name	Wallace Keith Barker
  Birth	1922
  Gender	Male
  _FGLINK	https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/212878576
  _FGRAVE	212878576
  Death	11 May 1980	Carleton Place, Lanark County, Ontario, Canada
  	Cause: Drowniing
  	1980, Wednesday May 14, The Almonte Gazette front page Fisherman drowns in Mississippi River A 57-year-old Carleton Place man drowned, late Sunday afternoon, after his boat capsized as he attempted to anchor it in the fast-flowing Mississippi River. Dead is Wallace Keith Barker of 25 Charles Street. Carleton Place Police Chief Ray McIsaac said Monday that Barker had apparently launched his boat from a spot near the sewage plant to do some fishing. He moved to a position behind William Street. About 5 pm he attempted to stop the boat by throwing the anchor out the back into the current, McIsaac said. The pull of the current on the anchor forced the back of the boat into the water, it quickly filled and capsize. Barker, who was not wearing a lifejacket, was thrown into the water and was unable to swim to shore. Other fisherman on shore witnessed the mishap heard cries for help and alerted authorities, but by the time police and Carleton Place Ocean Wave Fire Volunteers arrived it was too late. One witness to the tragedy was Bill Stewart who lives on Highway 29 near the Appleton cutoff. Overturned He said he was "shooting the breeze with a young lad," while he fished and took note of the boat as it made its way up river. He went back to his fishing and when he looked again (just after first noticing the craft) all he could see was a floating object "either a gas can or life-jacket." The Stewart noticed the stricken man trying to make it for shore through the fast-flowing, ice cold water. He said he seemed to be making way, but suddenly disappeared beneath the dark waters. Another local resident, Dave Stanley, was on shore and saw the boat overturn. He told the police that he quickly launched his own boat and chased Barker, who was being carried along by the current. However Stanley was unable to get to him as he disappeared beneath the surface. Police, firefighters and civilian volunteers used a variety of craft to search the river and the shoreline all the way from the area of the tragedy to Mississippi Wonderland, opposite the Mississippi Golf Club Scores of people lined both sides of the river to watch the grim search, but nothing was found and police called off the effort until Monday morning. Some searching resumed as early as 6 am, with fire volunteers having been asked to come back in the morning with their boats to aid in the task. Police set stop-logs in as the dam to cut down on the current in order to aid in the effort. Body Found A full search was underway by 7:45 am and half and hour later the body was discovered in five feet of water near the end of William Street (not far from where the tragedy occurred) by Deputy Fire Chief Don Ferrill. Diver from the Ontario Provincial Police would have been called had the initial search failed Monday. Lanark County Coroner Dr M.N. White of Carleton Place attended at the scene on Monday morning. An autopsy was performed and drowning was officially cited as the cause of death. A police department spokesman said an inquest in unlikely. Wallace Barker is survived by his mother Mrs Georgina Barker, one brother Alan and three sisters Ruth (Mrs Allan McDougall); Isobel (Mrs Aubrey Nesbitt) and Helen (Mrs Kenneth J. Drummond) all of Carleton Place. Remains rested at the Alan R. Barker Funeral Home, McArthur Avenue, Carleton Place until this afternoon when service was held in the chapel at 3 pm Interment Auld Kirk Cemetery, Almonte.
  Burial	Auld Kirk Cemetery, Ramsay, Mississippi Mills, Lanark County, Ontario, Canada
  	Address: 1923 Ramsay 8 Road Ramsay, Mississippi Mills, Lanark County, Ontario K0A 1A0 Canada 613-256-3520 almonteunited.com
  Person ID	I26972	The Family History of Robert Duncan a Lanark Society Settler
  Last Modified	7 Aug 2020

  
  

  Father	Robert Burns Barker,   b. 22 Apr 1895, Ontario, Canada d. 7 Oct 1970, Carleton Place, Lanark County, Ontario, Canada (Age 75 years)
  Mother	Georgina Smith,   b. 17 Oct 1890, Almonte, Lanark County, Ontario, Canada d. 23 Jan 1982, Carleton Place, Lanark County, Ontario, Canada (Age 91 years)
  Marriage	1917
  Family ID	F9346	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map

  Death - Cause: Drowniing - 11 May 1980 - Carleton Place, Lanark County, Ontario, Canada Burial - Address: 1923 Ramsay 8 Road Ramsay, Mississippi Mills, Lanark County, Ontario K0A 1A0 Canada 613-256-3520 almonteunited.com - - Auld Kirk Cemetery, Ramsay, Mississippi Mills, Lanark County, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Notes

  (Medical):Drowned as result of a capsized boat in a fishing accident on the Mississippi River.