Police search the marshland where bodies were found in Akwesasne, Quebec, Canada, March 31, 2023. REUTERS/Christinne Muschi
AKWESASNE, Quebec — Six bodies that police recovered on Thursday in a marshy area of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec came from two families seeking clandestine entry into the U.S., police said Friday, adding that an infant was still missing.
“The six individuals are believed to be from two families, one of Romanian descent and the other believed to be citizens of India,” Lee-Ann O’Brien, deputy chief of Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service, told a news conference.
“Police believe one infant from the Romanian family has not been located and we’ll continue searching. All are believed to have been attempting illegal entry into the U.S. from Canada,” O’Brien added.
The six dead are five adults and one child under three years of age. Both children “were associated with the Romanian family” and had Canadian passports, which were found, O’Brien said.
Police will be waiting on the results of a post-mortem and toxicology tests to determine the cause of death.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agreed last week to stop asylum seekers coming to Canada through unofficial border crossings, a move critics said could mean refugees and migrants will take more risks when crossing.
But Akwesasne police said the agreement that closed an unofficial border entry called Roxham Road in Quebec should not have been a factor here because the families were seeking to go to the U.S., not come to Canada.
“Right now what I can tell you is this has nothing to do with that closure,” O’Brien said because “these people were believed to be gaining entry into the U.S. It’s completely opposite.”
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