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
Fluid in eye cells can 'boil' if you watch the eclipse without protection: expert
Millions of people in parts of Eastern and Atlantic Canada will be able to see the rare solar eclipse happening on April 8. But they should only look up if they have proper eye protection, experts say.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
NEW More unauthorized products for skin, sexual enhancement, recalled: Here are the recalls of this week
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency recalled various items this week, including torches, beef biltong and unauthorized products related to skin care and sexual enhancement.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.
He didn't trust police but sought their help anyway. Two days later, he was dead
Jameek Lowery was among more than 330 Black people who died after police stopped them with tactics that aren’t supposed to be deadly, like physical restraint and use of stun guns, The Associated Press found.
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Polar ice is melting and changing Earth's rotation. It's messing with time itself
One day in the next couple of years, everyone in the world will lose a second of their time. Exactly when that will happen is being influenced by humans, according to a new study, as melting polar ice alters the Earth’s rotation and changes time itself.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.