Search continues for another missing boy in south Ottawa’s Rideau River

Family and friends are grieving the death of one teenager, while another is still missing, after four youth reportedly fell through the ice on Ottawa’s Rideau River on Wednesday night.

Ottawa police said they’ve found the body of one boy, but rescue efforts are ongoing for another boy after the search “in very difficult conditions” stopped overnight and resumed Thursday.

A police underwater search and recovery crew was seen sending an unmanned search vehicle into the river Thursday afternoon. A police diver was searching the waters again in the evening.

Paramedics said they first heard reports about four teenagers who fell through the ice near Nicolls Island Road around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Two teens aged 15 and 17 were found and taken to hospital to be treated for mild hypothermia while a police diver was taken to hospital for what paramedics called a diving-related emergency.

Ottawa police said in a Thursday morning news release the two other missing people are 16 and 17-year-old boys.

Police divers found one of their bodies.

Nicolls Island Road crosses the Rideau River around where the communities of Riverside South and Manotick meet, about 20 kilometres south of Ottawa’s core.

Ottawa has had a warmer-than-average December with temperatures above the freezing mark for five straight days.

A provincial police detachment further up the Ottawa Valley sent out an advisory with ice safety reminders Thursday afternoon, specifically to pay attention to the look, colour and thickness of ice before using it.

Victim said they were going skating

CBC News spoke to Haitham Mohammed at the scene, who said the body is his 17-year-old son Ahmed Ahmed.

His aunt Faten Ataallah described Ahmed as a very active, sporty teenager who was friendly with everyone, especially his family.

A month away from turning 18, she said the John McRae Secondary School student had hoped to attend a post-secondary police foundations program next year.

He was the youngest of four children. The family had come to Canada as refugees from Iraq a decade ago.

“They were excited to start a new beginning,” Ataallah told CBC.

She said Ahmed had left his family’s Nepean home to go skating with three friends.

Around 20 minutes later, the family got the dreaded knock at their door and quickly went to the river. She said Ahmed’s body was found around 4 a.m.

“We were all screaming,” she said. “It’s really hard. We can’t describe.”

As of mid-Thursday morning, the family was still waiting to be able to see his body.

“This is the worst feeling ever [to lose a child],” Ataallah said.

Two of Ahmed’s friends came to the river Thursday afternoon and lit a candle in his memory.

Seleina Elata said Ahmed was “just like a little brother.”

“He was a good and kind person. He always cared about others. He always wanted to make people laugh — he was a jokester,” Elata said.

“It really hurts because he’s the kind of person I’d usually go to in situations like this,” Elata said through tears. “He knew how to make everybody feel better no matter what the situation was.”

Emmah Palmer met Ahmed in high school and said their group of friends spent every day together this summer.

“Honestly he was one of the best people I’ve ever met in my life,” Palmer said.

“It doesn’t make sense, at all,” Palmer said, her emotions welling up. “It’s not fair.”

Councillor warns residents of thin ice

Rideau-Jock Coun. David Brown, whose ward covers the Nicholls Island area, says he’s been in touch with first responders. He learned that two of the teens rescued themselves from the water and went for help.

“It’s, you know, a senseless and tragic death so close to a very happy time of year for many,” Brown told CBC News. “I speak for our community when we send our thoughts and condolences out to the families.”

Brown described the area around the locks as a spot locals utilize in the winter for skating and recreation.

“Typically, it’s used by many residents,” Brown said. “This part of the Rideau River isn’t maintained by anyone officially to be used for recreational purposes. It’s not like the Rideau Canal downtown.”

Brown warned residents to be mindful and cautious near open bodies of water, especially when weather has been “unseasonably mild.”