Lightning Kills A Man While Asleep In His Tent...

Winnipeg Free Press OTTAWA -- A young father from Ottawa was struck by lightning and killed Sunday at a campsite east of the city.

Ryan Snutch, 26, his partner RoseAnn Garde and their 18-month-old son Julian were sleeping in a tent at the Whispering Pines Campsite in Alfred-Plantagenet, 65 kilometres east of Ottawa.

RoseAnn's father Rolf Garde said he has run the campsite for 20 years and had never had anything like this happen before.

He described the Ottawa man as a loving father. "He was very friendly, humorous, soft, just a nice guy."

Police said lightning struck a tree and then hit nearby tents at Whispering Pines Campground around 9 a.m.

Snutch was found unconscious, police said, and taken to hospital where he died.

Garde said it's a miracle that his grandson, who was also sleeping in the tent, survived. "It's one in a million," he said of the incident. "The baby is totally OK. It's a miracle. He's the most vulnerable."