Conservation Officer Lee Branscombe
Ontario Department of Lands and Forests
Ontario
End of Watch: Tuesday, November 1, 1955

Biographical Info
Age: 33
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available

Incident Details
Cause of Death: Drowned
Date of Incident: Not available
Weapon Used: Not available
Suspect Info: Not available

Officer Branscombe had only been a Conservation Officer for about two years when he set out with Deputy Warden Jim Noble in a motor-powered skiff to cross Collins Inlet channel, near Killarney, on a windy November evening in 1955. The officers were planning to check deer hunters at a camp beyond the commonly choppy waters of the channel. Hours later, the empty skiff was washed up on shore and a search began for the missing men.

Although the waters of the channel were dragged for several days, the effort recovered only a lever from Noble's rifle and a boot belonging to Branscombe. The wardens were swept out into Georgian Bay, or so it is surmised. Their bodies were never found.

Officer Branscombe was survived by his wife and four children.

Related Line of Duty Deaths

Deputy Warden Jim Noble Ontario Department of Lands and Forests, ON EOW: Tuesday, November 1, 1955 Cause of Death: Drowned