8 bodies pulled from a river in Akwesasne, migrants attempting illegal entry into U.S. from Canada

Authorities in the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne eight bodies of migrants of Indian and Romanian descent were pulled from the river Thursday and Friday.

“Previously, six individuals were recovered from the waters and acquisition. Today, two additional bodies have been recovered. One an infant, a Canadian citizen of Indian descent and one adult female believed to be an Indian national. A total of eight bodies have now been recovered from the waters,” said Shawn Dulude, Chief of Police for the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service on Friday afternoon.

“All are believed to have been attempting illegal entry into the United States from Canada. The circumstances surrounding the deaths continue to be investigated. There is no threat for the general public. Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service are working with Immigration Canada and Homeland Security to confirm their identities so that the next of kin notifications can be made.”

Police are continuing to search the waterways for Casey Oakes, who was reported missing in the area yesterday, but police cannot confirm that the two incidents are related.

The bodies, including that of a child under three and an infant, were found in the St. Lawrence River in the part of Akwesasne located in Quebec.

Akwesasne straddles the Canada-U.S. border and parts of the territory are in Ontario, Quebec and New York state.

The victims said Lee-Ann O’Brien, deputy chief of the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service said they were trying to enter the United States illegally from Canada. The migrants were from two families, one of Romanian descent and the other composed of Indian citizens, she told reporters Friday morning.

“The deceased included five adults and one child under the age of three who was a Canadian citizen,” she said, adding that searchers found the child’s Canadian passport. O’Brien said police found a second Canadian passport belonging to a missing infant who is also believed to have been with the Romanian family.

O’Brien said the six bodies were located during a search for a 30-year-old man who was reported missing on Thursday. Casey Oakes of Akwesasne was last seen Wednesday around 9:30 p.m. boarding a small boat departing from the east end of Cornwall Island, located in the St. Lawrence River and on the Ontario side of the Mohawk territory.

“A vessel matching the description as being operated by Casey Oakes was located in the vicinity of the deceased persons,” she said, adding that she couldn’t confirm whether that boat had been used to transport the two families.

Anyone who knows the whereabouts of Casey Oakes or sees a person matching this description is asked to contact the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service at (613) 575-2000.

“At the present time we don’t know,” said Dulude. “We are searching for him.”

#WATCH: Authorities in the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne say one child is missing after the bodies of six migrants of Indian and Romanian descent were pulled from the river Thursday.

READ: https://t.co/AQXLk6HixA pic.twitter.com/UqeJUii004

— CityNews Montreal (@CityNewsMTL) March 31, 2023

On Friday, the Akwesasne Mohawk Police marine unit, with assistance from Quebec provincial police, the RCMP and the Hogansburg Akwesasne Volunteer Fire Department, searched the river in the part of Akwesasne in Quebec. Later in the day, search and rescue boats could be seen slowly cruising the marshy banks of the islands within the river, as chunks of ice occasionally floated past.

Tony Jackson, a 31-year-old Akwesasne resident, was tending a bonfire next to the river, where he and two friends watched a police helicopter make slow passes over the shoreline. Jackson said he went to school with Oakes and the two played sports together.

“It’s a small community, so we all knew each other,” he said.

Jackson said boating in Akwesasne is a way of life, and that many people regularly use boats to go from the Canadian to the U.S. side of the community. He said the weather on Wednesday, when Oakes was last seen, was calm during the day but later turned rough. “The east wind around here creates a lot of waves, five feet tall, maybe taller,” said Jackson. He said he believed Oakes’s boat was less than six metres long.

Crossing the river on a little boat with many people on board, “that called for disaster,” he said.

While he never heard Oakes talk about transporting migrants, Jackson said he has personally witnessed groups of them crossing through fields with bags in hand, adding that he has also occasionally seen boats carrying large groups of people across the river. Once on the Quebec side of Akwesasne, he said, the border is not far by foot.

“A couple of times in one month, you’ll see a couple of them walking down the road with all their bags,” he said.

Post-mortem and toxicology tests have been ordered to determine the cause of the deaths, and Mohawk police say they are attempting to identify the victims and determine their status in Canada.

Akwesasne police say there have been 48 incidents of people trying to cross illegally into Canada or into the United States through the Mohawk territory since January, and most of them have been of Indian or Romanian descent.

The territory is known for being a transit point for the trafficking of humans and contraband because of its location. And in February, police in Akwesasne reported an increase in human smuggling into the Mohawk territory.

“The nature of human smuggling and recent weather conditions have resulted in our first responders being put at risk when completing lifesaving events,” the police force said in a news release at the time. “In the past few days, immigrants have required transportation to the hospital which not only is a concern for their health, but also reduces our own ambulance availability in Akwesasne.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reacted to the initial discovery of six bodies on Friday morning, telling reporters in Moncton, N.B., “our hearts go out to the families of the individuals who perished; this is a heartbreaking situation, given the young child that was among them.”

He was asked whether the deaths were related to the recent immigration agreement between Canada and the United States _ which closed unofficial ports of entry to would-be refugees seeking asylum in Canada. In response, he said he didn’t want to speculate.

“We have to understand properly what happened and do whatever we can to minimize the chances of it happening again.”

In April 2022, six Indian nationals were rescued from a sinking boat in the St. Regis River, which runs through Akwesasne Mohawk Territory. A seventh person, spotted leaving the vessel and wading ashore, was later identified as a U.S. citizen. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials described what happened as a human smuggling incident.

 

Trevor Reid, a spokesperson for the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Trenton, Ontario, the unit that assisted with the rescue says at this point they believe two people are still missing. He says the boat had been reported missing since March 29 at 9:40 p.m. The initial call to help with the search came in around 12:30 p.m. on March 30. They located it with a helicopter.

“Our thoughts are first and foremost with the families who are suffering the loss of loved ones right now. There are many questions that need answers but we’re not going to respond to speculation. We’re going to continue to respond with seriousness and thoughtfulness that it requires,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when asked about the situation on Friday morning.

Quebec’s public security minister François Bonnardel took to Twitter saying he is monitoring the situation closely and the Quebec provincial police force will be supporting the ongoing investigation.

Hier, 6 corps ont été retrouvés près d’Akwesasne. Mes pensées sont avec la communauté ce matin. Il y a une enquête en cours, on attend toujours les détails. La SQ est en soutien. On suit la situation de près.

— François Bonnardel (@fbonnardelCAQ) March 31, 2023

The federal public security minister Marco Mendicino – taking to Twitter to offer condolences to the community.

The news coming out of Akwesasne is heartbreaking.

I’ve reached out to Grand Chief Abram Benedict to express our condolences.

As we await more details, my thoughts are with the loved ones of those lost.

— Marco Mendicino (@marcomendicino) March 31, 2023