The authorities continued their investigation Thursday after the discovery the day before of the body of a man in a wooded area near Roxham Road, in Montérégie. Little information has filtered, but everything suggests that it would be a person who tried to cross the Canada-US border.
Alerted by an American helicopter on patrol to the presence of the body on the Canadian side of the border, Sûreté du Québec (SQ) agents from the MRC des Jardins-de-Napierville post went to the scene to confirm the death of the individual.
The body, which was in a wooded area not far from Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle, was then airlifted since it could not be moved otherwise, SQ spokesman Louis-Philippe Ruel said Thursday. .
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
The body was found in a wooded area near Roxham Road, near Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle.
According to Radio-Canada, it would be the body of a migrant who was trying to cross the border, information that the SQ had not confirmed on Thursday. “We are not able to say where this person came from and where he was going,” said Mr. Ruel.
It is “surprising” that a body was found near Roxham Road, according to Chedly Belkhodja, a professor at Concordia University specializing in regional immigration and citizen mobilization. “This path is extremely marked, he explains, especially with the presence of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. And it is a place where many people pass every day. Migrants come by taxi, often from Plattsburgh, then they cross. »
However, some people may be worried when they learn that they will be arrested once they enter Canada, says the expert.
I’ve seen tired, hesitant people on Roxham Road. Then, the Canadian police inform them that anyone who decides to cross is committing an illegal act and will be arrested. Sometimes people are scared, panicked, backed down. Maybe some find themselves wandering.
Chedly Belkhodja, professor at Concordia University specializing in regional immigration and citizen mobilization
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
An investigation has been opened to determine the nationality of the man found on Wednesday and the cause of his death.
Another hypothesis would be that this person was instead trying to leave Canada by heading for the United States. “It’s been observed for some time that people use Canada as a gateway and make the reverse route to go to the United States,” notes Mr. Belkhodja.
One thing is certain, he concludes: “It is a tragedy. »
Police deployment
An investigation has been opened to determine the nationality of the person and the cause of his death.
On Thursday afternoon, a major police deployment was active along Montée Glass, not far from Chemin Roxham, in order to find elements that would make it possible to better understand the circumstances of this tragedy.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
On Thursday, police officers from the Sûreté du Québec and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police surveyed the woods near Roxham Road in search of clues.
All-terrain vehicles from the Sûreté du Québec and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) were going back and forth in the frozen mud of a field at the edge of a wooded area in order to get to the search area.
“We are trying to find elements to understand what happened, the reason why this person was there. Did he leave a backpack somewhere? A hypothermic person tends to undress. Can we find pieces of clothing lying around left and right? “, explained the spokesperson Louis-Philippe Ruel.
Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle is located not far from Roxham Road, a passageway used by almost all of the tens of thousands of migrants who transit between the United States and Canada each year.
On December 28, the SQ launched a search operation to find a missing man in the Montée Glass area, not far from where the body was discovered on Wednesday. But we do not make a link for the moment between the two events.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
The police were using all-terrain vehicles to access the search area, in a wooded area near Roxham Road.
The wanted notice was lifted on December 29 because the SQ had reason to believe that the wanted man, a 44-year-old Montrealer, was on the American side of the border.
If the information that it is the body of a migrant is confirmed, this tragedy would be the first known death in this kind of situation for a year in Canada.
In January 2022, the bodies of four members of the same Indian family trying to cross the border into the United States were found in Emerson, Manitoba. They reportedly attempted the crossing on foot in harsh winter conditions and died of hypothermia.
“We are saddened to learn of the death of a person at the Canada-US border and we wish to offer our condolences to his loved ones,” reacted Thursday the office of the federal Minister of Public Security, Marco Mendicino. His press officer, Audrey Champoux, added that he would closely follow the investigation carried out by the Sûreté du Québec.
Not the first time
In April 2019, the body of a man was also found in the woods near the Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle border crossing.
A dozen Mexicans had just been arrested on the American side for crossing the border illegally, and a member of the group was missing. The American authorities had informed the Canadian authorities, and the Sûreté du Québec had launched a vast search operation.
The man had been found dead and, at first glance, there was no indication that it was a violent death or murder.
With the collaboration of Lila Dussault, The Press