A police boat searches in the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne, Friday, March 31, 2023. The Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service says it has recovered the body of a man who is connected to the investigation into the deaths of eight migrants. Photo: Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press.
Akwesasne Mohawk Police say a body found this month in the St. Lawrence River is that of a man connected to the investigation into the deaths of eight migrants.
According to a statement by police, the coroner’s office has identified the dead man as Casey Oakes, 30, a local resident who had been missing since March.
His boat had been found near the bodies of eight migrants who died while trying to cross illegally into the United States through Akwesasne Mohawk Territory, which straddles provincial and international boundaries and includes regions of Quebec, Ontario and New York state.
The bodies of members of two families were pulled from the St. Lawrence River in Akwesasne, about 130 kilometres southwest of Montreal, on March 30 and 31.
Four of the migrants were from India, and four were from Romania.
Authorities have said the area’s geography makes it a popular spot for human smugglers.
