Body of missing southern Alberta girl recovered from St. Mary river

The body of a teenage girl who went missing after a boating accident on a southern Alberta river has been recovered.

Global Lethbridge has confirmed the body of 17-year-old Naomi Waldner was found Thursday.

Waldner was canoeing and swimming with about 10 people from the Spring Valley Hutterite colony on June 10 in the area of Spring Coulee, a hamlet about 50 kilometres south of Lethbridge.

“This afternoon at approximately 3 p.m., the missing 17-year-old youth female was located deceased in the St. Mary River,” RCMP said in a news release late Thursday afternoon.

Last week, RCMP said three female teenagers “encountered difficulty” while trying to get out of the water.

The canoe flipped and Naomi was thrown into the water along with two other girls.

One of the girls was located and pronounced dead at the scene. Two other girls were swept away. At around 6:30 a.m. on June 11, a second girl was found and pronounced dead.

1:29 2 girls dead, search underway for 3rd on southern Alberta river

Senior members of the Spring Valley Hutterite Colony told Global News the two girls whose bodies were recovered were 17-year-old Linda Waldner and 16-year-old Martha Waldner.

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Colony members said the girls were strong swimmers but the river conditions made it difficult to swim at the time. None of them were wearing life jackets, they said.

1:54 Day 2 of search efforts continue for missing 17-year-old in St. Mary River

RCMP air services and search divers from Manitoba helped with the search.

– With files from Danica Ferris, Taz Dhaliwal and Liam Nixon, Global News