Body of 14-year-old boy found in pond northwest of Edmonton
The body of the 14-year-old boy who drowned in a Whitecourt, Alta., pond on Sunday was recovered on Tuesday, RCMP told CTV News Edmonton.
The victim, identified by family as Hassan Mohamed, drowned in the pond area of Rotary Park Outdoor Waterpark just before 4 p.m.
RCMP and firefighters searched until midnight on Sunday and between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Monday. Divers went into the pond just after 9 a.m. on Tuesday and recovered the body at 10:18 a.m., the RCMP said.
"We're trying to help the family heal and we're very glad that right now the body was found, which is very, very important," said Ahmed Shukri, a friend of the family through Edmonton's Somali community.
"It's going to give the family a bit of closure."
On Monday, the family of the victim questioned why divers hadn't come to search for their son sooner.
Cpl. Mike Hibbs said the divers are volunteers and that "they're quite busy at this time."
Shukri, and the family a day earlier, said there is a lack of warning signs and safety measures to keep park users safe.
"We're feeling this was preventable," he said.
In 2014, a 19-year-old drowned in the same pond, Cpl. Hibbs told CTV News.
Whitecourt's mayor told CTV News the pond does have warning signs and that the town will review the death.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's David Ewasuk
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
It could take years to catch up on child vaccinations in Ontario post-pandemic
Ontario is still playing catch up on routine vaccinations that many children missed during the pandemic and public health officials are warning that it could take years to solve the problem.