Windsor police say the two people who are presumed to have drowned were swimming in the area west of Sandpoint Beach, an area with longstanding safety concerns.
Police say the men are both South Asian international students in their 20s, and were only wearing swimming trunks at the time of their disappearance.
Windsor police say they were called to the area shortly after 7 p.m. Thursday.
“Once on scene, officers learned that two men were swimming just west of the beach when they suddenly went under the water and did not resurface,” according to a statement by authorities.
Emergency services combed the water and are expected to resume their search today with the assistance of the Ontario Provincial Police dive team. Drones have also been used to help locate the missing men.
The City of Windsor describes the two-hectare site as “easily the most popular beach in the city” — but has proposed relocating the beach due to safety concerns over a number of years.
Several people have died by drowning at the site, the previous most recent being in May 2021, a city report on the project dated April 2024 notes.
The drownings were “primarily due to patrons straying outside of the marked swimming areas and into an adjacent area at the mouth of the Detroit River where deep waters and strong currents are known to prevail.”
Two years ago, the city released a concept design for the area that would flip the location of the beach and park, moving the swimming area away from the mouth of the Detroit River. Two public consultations have been held on the issue.
The city has installed a fenced-off area, designating the safe swim area.