Bodies of two missing hunters found in St. Lawrence River, southwest of Montreal

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

Firefighters helped retrieve the bodies from the St. Laurence River southwest of Montreal today and bring them to shore.

COTEAU-DU-LAC, Que. — Two bodies found near a capsized canoe on the St. Lawrence River on Wednesday are those of hunters reported missing a day earlier, say Quebec provincial police.

Police identified the victims as Dany Lamothe-Vachon, 26, of Rigaud, Que., and Anthony Howarth, 27, of Montreal.

Spokeswoman Ingrid Asselin said authorities began looking for the two men after they failed to return from a duck-hunting excursion.

Both were wearing life-jackets and police are looking at the possibility the boat capsized due to strong winds or powerful waves, she said.

The deaths do not appear criminal, Asselin added, and autopsies will be necessary to determine whether the men drowned or died of hypothermia.

Firefighters helped retrieve the bodies from the river southwest of Montreal and bring them to shore.

Earlier, witnesses told authorities they thought they'd seen distress signals from two people on a small island on the river.

Authorities did find two people but they weren't in distress and were not the missing men.

Police said the capsized canoe was located shortly thereafter.