Rescue crews search for man missing after jumping off boat.

A man was missing and presumed drowned after jumping off a boat just off Sunset Beach.

St. Catharines' deputy fire chief, Dave Upper, said they received a call shortly after 6 p.m. on Saturday saying a boater had gone into the water and didn't come up.

He said that a group of people had rented a pontoon boat and were out at Sunset Beach less than a kilometre from the shoreline. Unfortunately, the male entered the water and never resurfaced.

Two boats from the fire services and two more from Coast Guard, two from Niagara Regional Police and a rescue boat from GAMRU based out of Grimsby began a grid search for the missing man.

Upper said that a search and rescue helicopter from Trenton also joined the search.

By 10 p.m., they had not found any signs of the missing boater.

"What a tragedy," said Upper.

"We stress so much to wear life jackets. Anything could happen. You can have a medical event, even if you're a strong swimmer.

Can't stress enough, you need to wear a life jacket."