Disappearances in the Saint-Charles River: a body recovered, identity confirmed

The body of a man has been drafted shortly before noon Wednesday by Sûreté du Québec divers in the Saint-Charles River, in Québec, four days after two individuals were swept away by the current.

• Read also: Unbearable wait for the two families

• Read also: Major operation to find the missing

The Coroner’s Office confirms that it is Kevin Timneu Fezeu, one of the two Laval University students who have been wanted since Sunday evening, and that an investigation will be carried out to find out more about the causes and circumstances of death. .

“During an investigation, the coroner becomes temporarily responsible for the body of the deceased person, determines his identity, can order an autopsy, toxicological analyzes or any other expertise deemed necessary. He then hands the body over to the family,” spokesman Jake Lamotta Granato said.

From Parc des Saules to the mouth of the river, the provincial and Quebec police had resumed the search and had been scrutinizing the area with a fine-toothed comb since 7:30 a.m. Wednesday.

The body was found a few hundred meters from the bridge which spans the river and which is located near the boulevards Neuvialle and Père-Lelièvre.

“It was the divers of the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) who found the body which was under water”, explains David Pelletier, of the Quebec City Police Service (SPVQ).

Appalled Friends

Completely dismayed friends, who knew Kevin Timneu Fezeu at Laval University, ran to the river near the bridge of the bicycle path where the tragedy took place.

Despite the pain, the discovery of the body brings some comfort, said Samuel Éric Kamgang, a close friend.

“Our hope was still that we could find him alive. Now, it will allow us to mourn in complete serenity, ”he said.

Kevin Timneu Fezeu was to celebrate his 29th birthday last Monday. He was a pharmacist by profession in Cameroon, according to his relatives. He was an immensely sociable individual, had many friends and was always ready to help.

He had been a student at Laval University for nearly a year in business management and administrative sciences and had many projects.

“Death as a hero”

To the knowledge of his friends, he did not have good swimming skills, which would not have prevented him from jumping into the water at the risk of his life to rescue a young woman who had fallen before him, and of which we are still without news.

“He is very social. He easily approaches others. He said I was his mom in Canada. I don’t live in residences, so I left my house by car, I went to university to bring him food or anything, ”said Solange Ngambou, who met him on campus.

“It’s really difficult because I couldn’t talk to him before all that. I always hoped that we could find him clinging, perhaps to a tree or a root, still breathing, that he would at least tell us what he went through before leaving. It’s very difficult,” she continued.

“I don’t even want to imagine the pain of the family who invested everything in their project because coming to study in Canada is not easy, it’s $22,000 a year, so imagine all the parents had to spend for it to come here. He had lots of projects, he explained how he had to support his family in return, ”she says.

“He really leaves us speechless […] He died a hero and that’s really his personality,” she said, sobs in her voice.

four days of research

It was the fourth day of searches for the authorities since a man and a woman in their twenties sank in the waters of the Saint-Charles River around 6 p.m. on Sunday.

Remember that the flow of the river was particularly intense during the incident, at about thirty cubic meters per second, six times higher than usual.

Again on Wednesday, nautical teams, divers, drones, dog handlers, foot patrollers and investigators were deployed to the scene in the morning.

In 72 hours, a few objects had been found in the search area more or less 10 km long. However, it could not be confirmed whether there was a link with the missing persons.

The young woman missing in this case is still missing.

More information to come…