The family of Steve Nkusi, a 24-year-old Canadian athlete who represented Canada at the 2015 Junior Pan American Games disclosed that the police have recovered his body from Lake Ontario.
The sister of Steve Nkusi, Sandrine Mugeni, told CBC Hamilton during a recent phone interview that his body had been found.
Mugeni revealed that the family had been hoping he would be found by the police soon.
Mugeni said: “We’re grateful for that.”
Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) reveals it found a body in Lake Ontario but has not confirmed his identity.
NRPS said the body was found about four kilometres east of the Welland Canal and 500 metres offshore, following a response to a 911 call from a boater who saw it.
In an email, Const. Philip Gavin said: “The identity of the body recovered by our marine could not be positively identified by our detectives and the coroner.
“The coroner who attended ordered the body be sent to the Centre of Forensic Sciences (CFS) in Toronto for a post-mortem and identification. We are awaiting the official results from the CFS.”
A media release from the police says an investigation is ongoing.
The family of Nkusi said he went missing Saturday at Sunset Beach in St. Catharines, Ontario while swimming during his friend’s birthday party.
On Monday, family members from all over Canada were at the beach, watching on and consoling one another as police boats scanned the waters.
Niagara police revealed emergency crews which include uniformed police, the NRPS Marine Unit, St. Catharines Fire, Trenton Search and Rescue, and the Canadian Coast Guard responded to initial reports.
Also, search efforts included sonar, underwater cameras, divers, and shoreline and open water searches.
Nkusi’s family said Nkusi was born in Kigali, Rwanda, but grew up in the Orléans area of Ottawa. He was an alumnus of the University of Ottawa with a finance degree and he worked for the federal government while in school.
Nkusi represented Canada in the high jump during the 2015 Junior Pan American Games and also started modelling recently.
