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This is the damaged aluminum boat found by RCMP officers on the shores of the Nelson River during a helicopter search on friday afternoon. Posted by Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Manitoba on Sunday, August 4, 2019

The force immediately sent five members from the recovery team to conduct a “thorough underwater search of significant areas of interest” Saturday night, according to a statement from the RCMP on social media.

The river is about 2,500 km long and east of the Hudson Bay, spilling into a number of lakes, including Cross Lake and Stevens Lake.

The boggy, remote area around Gillam has been the hot spot in the hunt for Bryer Schmegelsky, 18 and Kam McLeod, 19, who managed to cross four provinces in 10 days.

The news comes after police said Wednesday it would be scale back search efforts around Gillam, the last confirmed location of the duo which was more than a week ago.

The RCMP reports the teens were spotted in the small, rural hydro town on July 22 and also found a burned, grey Toyota RAV4 near Fox Lake Cree Nation.

The military and RCMP brought helicopters, drones, dogs and ATVs, throwing every resource they had at their search in Gillam and the smaller community of York Landing after an alleged sighting there.

Besides RCMP officers in a chopper spotting the aluminum boat, which spurred the current search in the Nelson River, they didn’t find any other sign of the teenagers.

McLeod and Schmegelsky’s absence has also created paranoia in Ontario, prompting a slew of impulsive social media posts and panicked calls to the Ontario Provincial Police about abandoned vehicles and alleged sightings of the fugitives.

The high volume of reports to local towns including Timmins and Kapuskasing led the OPP to form a dedicated task force of investigators to follow up on the tips.