Mohawk police in Akwesasne confirmed Tuesday that Casey Oakes, the 30-year-old man who is still missing, is linked to the discovery of the bodies of eight migrants in the St. Lawrence River last Thursday and Friday.
“Yes, investigators now believe Casey Oakes was related to the eight victims found last week during a search of the St. Lawrence River,” local deputy police chief Lee-Ann O’Brien said in an email. sent to The Press.
However, it specifies that “the investigation continues to evolve”, and that the police force will not provide “any other information for the moment”. “The investigation is still in its early stages and we are still trying to piece things together to determine what happened,” Ms.me O’Brien, inviting anyone “with information” to contact 613-575-2340, or write to [email protected].
Over the past few days, Mr Oakes’ boat had already been found overturned near the bodies of the eight migrants, two of whom were young children, but authorities have so far refused to establish a clear link between his disappearance and the tragedy which occurred.
Mr Oakes was last seen at 9.30pm last Wednesday. He was then in the process of launching a pale blue boat at the eastern tip of Cornwall Island. He wore black snow pants, a black sweater, a black toque and a black face covering. Clothes identified as belonging to Mr. Oakes were also found at the scene of the event, police said on Sunday.
Excavations continue
No further details were given on the progress of the investigation on Tuesday as searches continued to locate the 30-year-old man. Several personnel have been mobilized in this direction for a few days, including divers from the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) who “will return to research” and air support from the Quebec police force.
“Please avoid the search areas and the command post for the time being,” the authorities also asked on Monday. “Local waterways continue to be searched. There are eight kilometers of waterways to search,” the local police also said.
Remember that two families were decimated in this tragedy, one of Indian origin and the other of Romanian origin. The four Indian victims are from the Chaudhari family, Mehsana city police confirmed on Monday: the father, Praveenbhai Chaudhari, 50, the mother, Dakshaben, 45, their son, Meet, 20, and their daughter , Vidhi, 23 years old.
The identity of the other family, of Romanian origin, had been made public by the authorities. They are Florin Iordache and Cristina Zenaida Iordache, both 28 years old and from Romania, and their two children aged 2 and 1, in possession of Canadian passports.
According to information first broadcast by Radio-Canada, Florin Iordache had seen his asylum application refused shortly before the tragedy. At the time of the events, he was therefore about to be expelled from the country. Relatives of the family also confided that Mr. Iordache and his wife had resided in the Toronto area for more than a year. It was also planned to pick him up, with his family, in New York State.