09/03/2026
A 60-year-old Pictou native who went missing while fishing near a Manitoba hydro dam has been found dead.
James Redmond was presumed drowned after disappearing Aug. 3 near the Kelsey Generating Station in Manitoba. His body was recovered Sept. 2, the second day of a renewed search.
Redmond had been living in Calgary and working turnaround shifts at the remote fly-in/fly-out hydro plant. He was known to fish from the shoreline of the Nelson River during his time off.
RCMP began searching for Redmond after he failed to show up for work Aug. 3. His fishing gear was later found about 200 metres upstream from the dam, near an area police believed he may have entered the river.
His family told The Advocate that local residents and search teams continued looking for Redmond, along with RCMP drones, Dominion Divers and the Hutterian Emergency Aquatic Response Team.
His sister, Patti Redmond, said the family is grateful to everyone who helped with the search.
“They are heroes to us,” she said.
Patti and their mother, Betty, said Redmond loved cooking and fishing.
Redmond grew up in Pictou and began his culinary career locally, working at the Consulate Inn under Chef Garry Jardine. He later ran the Consulate Inn and the Braeside Inn, and also worked at the Oak Island Inn in Chester.
Over the years, Redmond worked in several locations across Canada and internationally, including Courtney, B.C., Lake Louise, Jasper and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
He leaves behind his partner, Violetta Gazmin, and two teenage children who live in Edmonton.
Following weeks of uncertainty, Patti said the discovery of her brother’s body will finally allow the family to begin moving forward.
“Now we can get some closure,” she said.
