Boy’s body pulled from Lake Ontario after friend, passerby tried to save him

Toronto police say the body of a 14-year-old boy was recovered after a several hours of search and rescue in the water at Ashbridges Bay Park.

Insp. Dusan Pravica said on Monday afternoon that the boy was found not too far from where he was last seen going into the water.

Crews were called to the area just before 6 p.m. Sunday about a missing person in the water.

“Our understanding is the 14-year-old was out swimming with a friend of his, they were enjoying the nice weather,” Pravica said. “They decided to go for a swim.”

“At some point, they both began having trouble in the water. One of them was able to make it back to shore alerting others nearby,” Pravica said.

Pravica said a husband and a wife were walking by when they heard the boy call for help. The husband had jumped into the water to try to rescue the boy, he added.

He said search and rescue teams found the teen’s body at around 9 a.m. Monday.

2:41 Body of Toronto teen recovered in Lake Ontario

“While we are still investigating what exactly happened, this serves as a strong reminder of the importance of water safety particularly as we enter the summer months,” Pravica said.

Idris Halai, the father of the teenager who jumped in to try to save the other teen, told reporters his 14-year-old son and best friend had gone to the beach area on Sunday afternoon.

“My son jumped to rescue his friend,” Halai said. “So he was in the water and they (rescue crews) took him out. And paramedics were commending his efforts but I wish it could have been better.”

“Unfortunately, his best friend actually did not survive,” Halai said. “My son is in trauma. He just keeps remembering his memories.”

Paramedics told Global News they took a teenage boy to hospital for treatment for minor injuries. The man who had also jumped into the water was also treated at the scene but he was released by paramedics.

Halai said his son was treated at SickKids Hospital as a precaution to check his vital signs and for any counselling he needed. He was released Sunday night, the father said.

He also said that his son and the victim had been friends for at least five years and that they both reside in the same building in the Thorncliffe Park neighbhourhood but went to different schools. He said he had warned his son not to go close to the water when he found out he was going down to Woodbine Beach.

Halai said his son was a level 6 swimmer but that the other teenage boy did not know how to swim. He called the incident an “accident.”

“The wrong place, wrong time,” Halai said.