Friends and family of a young man who died after going missing at Osheaga are trying to come to terms with a mysterious death that is connected to more questions than answers.
“It hasn’t really hit me yet, what happened to Collins,” said Collins Obiagboso’s mother, Georgina Mensa Boboe. “I try and remember him for the kind, loving, gentle, kind-hearted person that he truly was.”
She called her son a generous man who enjoyed making people laugh and “would give you the shirt off his back.”
Obiagboso had come into Montreal from Ottawa to attend the festival with friends. He got separated in a dense crowd. Having left his cell phone at an Airbnb, none of his friends would hear from Obiagboso again.
On Sunday, his friends filed a missing person report with police. His body was recovered from the St. Lawrence River by Longueuil police on Monday and his identity was confirmed by Montreal police a day later.
Mensa Bobie said her son didn’t know how to swim.
“I don’t know how he ended up in the water,” she said. “I’m sure this type of festival would have security or bars around the water. I just want some answers.”
While there are fences blocking access to the river near Osheaga’s site on Ile Notre Dame, the fences do not surround the entire island.
Police are investigating Obiaboso’s death. A spokesperson for the SPVM said no signs of violence were found on the body. An autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death.
