In 1993 members of the RCMP Underwater Recovery Team for Manitoba and two members of the Transportation Safety Board traveled to Charron Lake and conducted training while looking for the elusive Ghost.
As technology began to develop, more and more sophisticated attempts to locate the Ghost were employed.
In 1999, a high-resolution aeromagnetic survey by Terraquest Limited mapped six magnetic targets on the east side of the lake.
In 2000, the team used a Kongsberg Simrad Mesotech sonar, Fisher 'metal detector' or towed magnetometer, underwater video camera, Eagle depth sounder, GPS and scuba gear.
Successive dives in 2001 and 2002 also yielded no Ghost.
In 2003, an Imagenex Side Scan Sonar, and a Shark GSM-9 Proton Precession magnetometer were used and detected targets of interest and dove on them to discover they were natural reef structures.
The team conducted shore searches for any sign of a camp or camp activities. The magnetometer proved to be picking up too much of a response from reefs and glacial-derived rocks. Later in-depth review of research data showed the cargo never included drill rods as initially believed.
This would have made target a more detectable one for the magnetometer. Without this mass of iron, the anomaly produced by the aircraft was too small to be easily detected. The sidescan sonar became the method of choice.
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Tales from the sky
The weather during 2003 trip was best described as 'ugly'. Patrick Madden recalls: "We were hampered by sleet, winds and just plain miserable conditions. Nonetheless, we persevered and conducted side scans of the areas at the south end of the lake. We put in many hours on the water in cold damp conditions. If it wasn't for the cooking of Gord Emberley and his delivery of bag lunches to us on the lake (using his Stinson airplane) it would have been much more difficult. I have to admit I never realized that a 'Klik' sandwich could taste good ... and if the truth be known I still don't. We left after several days, again unsuccessful but confident another area of the lake had been eliminated."
