Body of drowned boy found

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/05/2023 (341 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The body of 12-year-old Winnipeg boy feared to have drowned in Whiteshell Provincial Park has been found, RCMP said.

The body was found and recovered at about 1 a.m. Monday, RCMP said in a news release later in the day.

On Sunday, the boy’s family was in shock and praying he would be found. Nida Zeeb said her nephew Usaid Habib was camping with his parents and three brothers when he slipped and fell into the water at Sturgeon Falls on Saturday morning.

“He was very excited to see the water, and he just slipped,” she said Sunday while travelling from Edmonton to Winnipeg to be with relatives at Usaid’s home.

Usaid’s father remained at Sturgeon Falls on Sunday afternoon, while Manitoba RCMP divers and officers from the Whiteshell detachment continued to search for the boy. Police also used a drone.

Family members, including siblings, who witnessed the incident are traumatized, Zeeb said Sunday.

“We just hope everyone prays and takes some time out from their day, and for every child to be careful,” she said.

Usaid was last seen climbing down rocks when he slipped into the water and disappeared under the rapids shortly before 11:45 a.m. Saturday, police said.

A witness jumped in to try and save the boy but was unable to bring him to shore.Zeeb believed the man was fishing nearby.

Located about 125 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, the water at Sturgeon Falls is very fast-moving and deep.

Accessible by hiking trail, the falls are located on a narrow section of water between Nutimik and Numao lakes on the Winnipeg River system.

Rough water conditions, including surfing waves, have made the site a popular draw for experienced kayakers, while also creating concerns for the safety of visitors.

Zeeb said her nephew loved to be around water and go on camping trips with his family, who’ve stayed in the Whiteshell several times in the past.

Usaid was actively involved in Manitoba’s Muslim community, including volunteer work at the Grand Mosque on Waverley Street, his aunt said.

He was recently recognized for raising the largest amount of donations for the mosque during Ramadan, she said.

“He was a very good, wonderful kid,” said Zeeb. “He was a very well brought-up child.”

Usaid, whose family is originally from Pakistan, recently told his aunt how excited he was to visit her and his uncle in Edmonton this summer.

The Habib family welcomed Free Press journalists into their home in early 2020 to observe a Ramadan iftar feast while gatherings were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Christopher Love, the water smart and safety management co-ordinator at Lifesaving Society Manitoba, said the incident was a tragic event.

“Our thoughts go out to the family and friends of the individual involved,” he said.

The incident was the first drowning Lifesaving Society Manitoba was made aware of in 2023.

A Manitoba woman, who visits a family cottage in the Nutimik area, said there were existing concerns about visitor safety at Sturgeon Falls.

“This was the most awful news (Saturday),” she wrote in an email. “We have had concerns about the hiking trail that comes out there. I have contacted Parks asking them to put some signage up to indicate to hikers how dangerous the water is at that location.”

A police spokeswoman said Sunday that RCMP divers from Saskatchewan were en route to the site to assist their Manitoba counterparts starting Monday, if required.

Manitoba Conservation officers and Manitoba Parks staff members were also involved in the search.

The Hutterian Emergency Aquatic Response Team, based at the Oak Bluff Hutterite Colony near Morris, was prepared to help. A representative visited the scene Sunday.

“If the search continues and they can’t resolve this issue, we will see if we can help,” search team co-ordinator Paul Maendel said Sunday.

HEART’s dive team is equipped with sonar and a remote-operated underwater vehicle that provides high-resolution video.

With the return of hot weather, Manitobans are being reminded to be careful around lakes, rivers, swimming pools and other sources of water.

Swimmers should be with at least one other person, said Love.

Children should be “actively” supervised by an adult and, especially for those under seven, they should be within arm’s reach of an adult at all times, he added.

Love recommends wearing a life-jacket or personal flotation device.

“That can be the difference between surviving or not,” said Love.

Do not operate a boat while under the influence of alcohol or drugs, he warned.

Love said about 70 per cent of drownings in Manitoba occur between May and September.

The province averages 22 drownings per year, with almost three-quarters happening in lakes, ponds or rivers, a recent Lifesaving Society Manitoba report stated.

About 75 to 80 per cent of victims are male. The average age varies from year to year.

Manitoba’s drowning rates for children ages four and under and adolescents between the ages of 15-19 are higher than the national average, said Love.

A one-year-old boy from Berens River First Nation and a six-year-old boy who lived in Winnipeg’s Valley Gardens neighbourhood were among the fatalities last year.

There were multiple drownings on the Winnipeg River system, when water levels were higher and flows faster due to spring flooding.

In August, a 33-year-old Winnipeg man died when he got into difficulty at Pine Point Rapids on the Whiteshell River, about eight kilometres southeast of Sturgeon Falls.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @chriskitching