Police in northern Alberta say a young boy has drowned while kayaking with his father.

Slave Lake RCMP said the pair failed to return from their boating trip as scheduled Saturday evening.

Mounties said they looked for the missing kayakers with drones, boats and a helicopter along with Slave Lake Fire and conservation officers.

They said the father was found safe a few hours later near an overturned kayak.

RCMP said both people were wearing life jackets at the time but couldn’t swim.

The town of Slave Lake, located on the southeast shore of Lesser Slave Lake, is about 250 kilometres north of Edmonton.