Ontario, Search Against All Odds August 21, 2006:-July 3 2007 323 days It was a beautiful sunny summer day when Eli Horowitz, z”l, and his father-in-law, Heine Mondrowitz, z”l, set out on their boating excursion on Lake Nipissing, the fifth largest lake in Ontario. Like other visitors, they and their families are drawn to the North Bay area’s pristine lakes and sandy beaches. Several hours pass as their families await the men’s return. Becoming anxious, they decided to call the police, who inform them that a report of an idling boat on the lake has just been received. Prayers begin to pierce the heavens and extensive ground, air and water searches commence for the two missing men. Deciding the perimeter of where to search is complicated, since Lake Nipissing consists of hundreds of smaller islands-the possibilities seemed endless. Days pass and, the hope of finding anyone alive slowly diminishes. Five days later, amidst extensive ground, air and water searches Heine Mondrowitz’s, body was recovered from the water. While the searchers assume his son-in-law will be found soon afterwards, the family would have to wait ten long months before the body of Eli Horowitz would be found. Typically, authorities end a recovery mission after a limited amount of time, unless a high profile case is involved. But in the Jewish religion, finding and properly identifying each body is of utmost importance. Not only does this ensure a proper burial for the victim and closure for the family, but — in the case of a married man – it means the difference between whether or not his wife may ever remarry. (continue below....) For VitalOne, the search would not end until Eli Horowitz was found. They enlisted every contact, every resource, and every professional – including some of the nation’s top experts in the field of search and rescue missions. They respond by assuring Rabbi Leider that they are at his disposal and know full well that he will hold nothing back in terms of attaining the sacred goal. They are well-aware of his reputation as someone who is instrumental in bringing the unattainable into the realm of reality. Still, some experts advise VitalOne that any more time invested in the search would not be worth the time. As each day passes, the perimeter of the search grid greatly increases throughout the lake. But VitalOne’s Search and Rescue Team  refuses to give up and continues their untiring pursuit of Eli Horowitz, z”l, implementing K-9 tracking dogs to search the shore, air helicopters equipped with professional spotters in the air, and state of the art underwater remote vehicles and side-scan sonar imaging to search the lake. Special GPS tracking and mapping programs are used. Underwater forensic investigators and marine biologists are consulted.   While every conceivable method and equipment to search for Eli Horowitz, z”l, was used by experts in even the deepest waters of the lake, his body would be discovered later, on July 3, 2007, by a simple fisherman in three feet of water. T he Horowitz family was finally able to grant their beloved Eli a proper burial. VitalOne’s best search efforts were not totally unsuccessful, however. Their constant persistence and unwillingness to give up gave the family a foundation for their prayers for Eli’s, z”l, return and showed them that they were not alone in their crisis. Interestingly enough, as a Toronto Hatzoloh paramedic, this was something that Eli, z”l, had done for so many other victims of tragedy. VitalOne’s life-saving work hinges on the graciousness of philanthropists like Mr. Jay Schottenstein (Columbus, Ohio). More than once, Mr. Schottenstein has graciously sent his private jet to support VitalOne’s rescue work. This time, he helped transport the National Underwater Rescue & Recovery Institute and the Ohio K9 search team to assist in the ongoing search efforts.