Police say they are still searching for two people after six bodies were recovered from the St. Lawrence River near Akwesasne.
The six dead include five adults and one child under the age of three, the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Services said in a media release on Friday morning. They are believed to be an Indian family and a Romanian family who were attempting to cross into the U.S. from Canada illegally, according to police.
Police said they are waiting on the results of a post-mortem and toxicology tests to determine the cause of death.
Casey Oakes, 30, remains missing, police said. Oakes was last seen on Wednesday boarding a small, light blue vessel, leaving Cornwall Island. He was dressed in black, wearing a black face mask and a black tuque.
Also missing is an infant believed to be from the Romanian family.
Police said they are seeking help from Quebec provincial police and the Ontario provincial police air support units to assist with the search.
Akwesasne is a Mohawk community about 120 kilometres west of Montreal that straddles the Canada-U.S. border and occupies territory in Ontario, Quebec and New York state.
The search was launched on Thursday afternoon after the crew of a search and rescue helicopter saw an overturned boat in the water, a spokesperson for the Trenton Joint Rescue Coordination Centre said in an email.
More to come.