Police begin identifying victims pulled from waters near Akwesasne
Posted April 1, 2023 3:32 pm.
Last Updated April 1, 2023 5:04 pm.
Two 28-year-olds and two children who were Canadian citizens were among the eight migrants who lost their lives and were pulled from the St. Lawrence River earlier this week.
The Akwesasne Mohawk Police, in an update Saturday evening, said the circumstances surrounding their deaths continue to be investigated.
The bodies of five adults and one child were found in a marshy area on Thursday. The bodies of a second child and an adult woman were recovered on Friday. The victims are believed to be of Romanian and Indian descent.
Police have identified one of the victims as 28-year-old Florin Iordache. Investigators say he had two Canadian passports in his possession – one for a two-year-old and another for a one-year-old. Both children were among the victims.
A second adult victim was also identified: 28-year-old Cristina (Monalisa) Zenaida Iordache.
Police say the remaining four adult victims are Indian Nationals whose identities have not yet been confirmed, and next of kin have not yet been notified.
“Until confirmed, names will not be released to the public,” the Akwesasne Mohawk Police said in a statement.
Police said they were working with Immigration Canada and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to confirm the identities.
Search continues for boat operator
Searchers continued to look in a marshy area of the St. Lawrence River on Saturday for a man missing from the nearby Mohawk community.
Authorities provided no updates in their hunt for 30-year-old Casey Oakes, who was last seen Wednesday night operating a boat that was found next to the migrants’ bodies the following day. Police have not made any direct connections between Oakes and the deaths.
Akwesasne straddles the Canada-U.S. border, with parts of the territory in Ontario, Quebec and New York state. The streets inside and areas surrounding the community were quiet on Saturday, with few visible signs of the ongoing search.
Val Gray, owner of the Three Feathers Internet Cafe, said the community had been saddened by the unfolding tragedy.
“People are just sad about the event and they are just hoping that they can recover everyone who has been involved in the accident,” Gray said in an interview.
RELATED: 8 bodies pulled from river in Akwesasne, attempting illegal entry into U.S. from Canada
Gray said while she doesn’t know Oakes, she does know his father who is a community member and one of her cafe’s customers.
She said her business was hired by the Mohawk council to make sure all of the volunteer searchers were fed. Gray said the cafe had provided breakfast sandwiches for the past two days, as well as supper on Friday.
“The community is pulling together and everybody is being supportive of each other in one way or another, whether it be volunteering at the main (search) site or other businesses donating … to the searchers,” said Gray. “That’s what this community is about, no matter what everybody is always there to help.”
Popular spot for human smugglers: authorities
A few of the volunteers could be seen gathered at the Hogansburg, N.Y., Akwesasne Volunteer Fire Department on Saturday, while police blocked off access to the marina where they had set up a command post. When approached, officials and searchers declined to comment on whether any progress had been made.
Authorities have said the territory’s unique geography makes it a popular spot for human smugglers, with police making 48 separate interceptions involving 80 people trying to enter the United States illegally since January. Most of them have been of Indian or Romanian descent.
In February, police in Akwesasne reported an increase in human smuggling into the Mohawk territory.
In April 2022, six Indian nationals were rescued from a sinking boat in the St. Regis River, which runs through the 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.
Oakes was charged last year with two criminal counts: dangerous operation of a conveyance and assault with a weapon. He is scheduled to return to court in Valleyfield, Que., at the end of May in connection with that case, which was investigated by police in Akwesasne.
