Akwesasne: Bodies of two more migrants found, bring total dead to eight
Police say the bodies of eight migrants have been retrieved from the waters off the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne, straddling the Canada - U.S. border.
The bodies, recovered Thursday and Friday, consisted of two families of Romanian and Indian origins who were likely trying to enter the U.S. illegally, police said Friday. Two children are among the dead.
On Friday morning, Akwesasne Mohawk Police said six bodies were found in a marsh area during an aerial search with the Canadian Coast Guard. One of them was a young child, who was found with a Canadian passport, police told CTV News Thursday. The child was a member of the Romanian family.
Officials provided a second update to the media Friday afternoon, saying the two additional bodies have been recovered. One is an infant, who was a Canadian citizen of Romanian descent. The second was a woman who was an Indian national.
The bodies, which haven't been officially identified, were found in Tsi Snaihne (Snye) in Akwesasne, a Mohawk territory that straddles Quebec, Ontario and New York state.
"All are believed to have been attempting illegal entry into the U.S. from Canada," said Akwesasne deputy police chief Lee-Ann O'Brien.
They were discovered as the result of a search for another missing person that also started Thursday.
Casey Oakes, 30, was last seen Wednesday boarding a small, light blue vessel departing from the east end of Cornwall Island, in the St. Lawrence. Oakes remains missing and police say they are continuing to search the waterways for him.
The vessel Oakes was using was later found near the bodies of the six deceased. Akwesasne police could not confirm whether Oakes has any connection to the victims.
Shawn Dulude, chief of the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service would not speculate on what caused the deaths, and said a coroner will determine the cause of death.
"It could be anything that could have caused this tragedy. It could be a faulty boat, it could be human error, and the investigation will determine that," he said.
NO CONNECTION TO ROXHAM ROAD CLOSURE, POLICE SAY
According to O'Brien, investigators do not believe the tragedy is connected to the closure of Roxham Road last week.
Roxham Road, an unofficial point of entry between New York and Quebec, was closed Saturday morning following an agreement between U.S. President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
"This has nothing to do with that closure. That closure was people [...] leaving the U.S. to Canada, these people were believed to be gaining entry into the U.S," O'Brien said.
While it's true that Roxham was mainly used by those seeking passage to Canada, some used it to enter the U.S. as well. One example is Fritznel Richard from Montreal, who died near the border in December while attempting to reach his family in New York.
RISK OF HUMAN SMUGGLING ON TERRITORY
But illegal border crossings through Akwesasne were an issue before Roxham closed; in January, for example, Akwesasne police say they detained four "foreign nationals" attempting to enter the U.S. illegally.
"We have seen an increase of people passing through Akwesasne gaining entry into the U.S.," O'Brien said.
Before that, 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.
Dulude said his team has patrolled the water on the territory for many years, and received additional funding in the last year with a goal of surveilling the area 24 / 7.
"Since January, we have had 80 interceptions of people that were trying to gain access to the United States coming through our territory," Dulude said. "There's always been people coming through here. Obviously now lately, there's been more attention brought to it because of other situations across the province and across the country with illegal migrants trying to gain access to the United States."
Akwesasne can be a target for human traffickers because of its location, said Dulude.
"It's money, quick money, but there is a risk that comes with it. And this unfortunately shows at a larger scale, the risk that is involved with it," he said. "Because of where we're located, they can facilitate and go find people within our community that are, to a certain extent, exploited because of their knowledge of the waters and the lay of the land, that they will get these people into United States."
Speaking to reporters in Moncton, N.B. Friday, Trudeau said he doesn't want to speculate on whether the deaths were related to Roxham's closure.
"We have to understand properly what happened and do whatever we can to minimize the chances of it happening again," he said.
With files from CTV News Montreal's Joe Lofaro and The Canadian Press.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard found not guilty of sexual assault
Canadian musician Jacob Hoggard has been found not guilty of sexually assaulting a young woman in northeastern Ontario eight years ago. The former Hedley frontman had pleaded not guilty to sexual assault.
Police arrest Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides
Police have arrested a Toronto woman in connection with three recent homicides and investigators say that they believe two of the victims may have been 'randomly targeted.'
Missing B.C. climber died from fall on Mount Baker, medical examiner says
The body of a British Columbia mountain climber has been located and recovered after the 39-year-old man was reported missing during a solo climb on Washington state's Mount Baker earlier this week.
Following child's death in Ontario, here's what you need to know about rabies and bats
An Ontario child died last month after coming into contact with a rabid bat in their bedroom, which was the first known human rabies case in Canada since 2019.
A French judge in a shocking rape case allows the public to see some of the video evidence
A French judge in the trial of dozens of men accused of raping an unconscious woman whose now former husband had repeatedly drugged her so that he and others could assault her decided on Friday to allow the public to see some of the video recordings of the alleged rapes.
Former Colorado county clerk Tina Peters sentenced to 9 years for voting data scheme
A judge ripped into a Colorado county clerk for her crimes and lies before sentencing her Thursday to nine years behind bars for a data-breach scheme spawned from the rampant false claims about voting machine fraud in the 2020 presidential race.
Anne Hathaway confirms 'Princess Diaries 3': 'Miracles happen'
You might be thinking, 'Shut up!' but it’s officially true: the 'Princess Diaries' franchise is finally growing.
Youth pleads guilty to manslaughter in death of P.E.I. teen Tyson MacDonald
A teen charged with the murder of another teen on Prince Edward Island last year has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter.
Sask. man pleads guilty in U.S. after unknowingly providing videos of men raping toddlers to FBI agent
A Saskatchewan man living in the United States has pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography after he unknowingly provided disturbing videos to an FBI agent he thought was a pedophile.