A body found this month in the St. Lawrence River belonged to a man connected to an investigation into the deaths of eight migrants, Canadian authorities said Friday.
Akwesasne police said the coroner’s office identified the dead man as Casey Oakes, 30, a local resident who had been missing since March.
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His boat was found near the bodies of eight migrants who died while trying to cross illegally into the United States through Akwesasne Mohawk Territory, which straddles provincial and international boundaries and includes parts of Quebec, Ontario and New York state.
A boat searches around an area where six bodies of Romanian and Indian migrants were pulled from the St. Lawrence River, Akwesasne, Quebec, Canada, Friday, March 31, 2023. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press via AP, file)
The bodies of the migrants were pulled from the St. Lawrence River in Akwesasne, about 80 miles southwest of Montreal, on March 30 and 31.
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Authorities said they were members of two families, one from India and the other from Romania.
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Akwesasne Mohawk Territory is known for being a transit point for the trafficking of contraband and the smuggling of people because of its location.