Akwesasne Mohawk Police are working with Immigration Canada and the United States Department of Homeland Security to confirm the identities of the eight migrants whose bodies were pulled from the St. Lawrence River this week.
The search resumed at 7:30 a.m. in Akwesasne, in the area where a total of six adults and two children were found dead on Thursday and Friday, the agency said. The Press Chief Shawn Dulude of the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service Saturday morning.
Police discovered the bodies of five adults and a child in a marshy area on Thursday, and recovered the bodies of a baby and an adult woman on Friday.
One of the children was a Canadian citizen, and the victims are believed to be of Romanian and Indian origin.
The research continues by boat and with the assistance of divers from the Sûreté du Québec (SQ), said Mr. Dulude. Given the weather conditions involving rain, the SQ helicopter will not be able to fly over the area on Saturday, he added.
The search continues in particular to find Casey Oakes, a resident of Akwesasne who has been missing since Wednesday.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY AKWESASNE MOHAWK POLICE DEPARTMENT
Casey Oakes
Mohawk police have made no direct connection between the deaths of the eight migrants and the disappearance of Mr Oakes, who was last seen Wednesday evening on a boat found alongside the bodies of the migrants on Thursday. The 30-year-old man is still wanted.
Akwesasne straddles the Canada-US border, with parts of the territory in Ontario, Quebec and New York State. The Quebec section is approximately 130 kilometers from Montreal.
According to the hypothesis of the authorities, the two families were trying to reach the United States through Mohawk territory.
Authorities say the territory’s unique geography makes it a popular place for smugglers, with police making 48 separate interceptions involving 80 people trying to enter the United States illegally since January.
With The Canadian Press