The body of 14-year-old Edmonton boy Hassan Mohamed was recovered Tuesday from the pond at the Rotary Park in Whitecourt, Alta., after he fell in the water on Sunday afternoon.
In an update to the media on site in Whitecourt on Tuesday, RCMP Cpl. Michael Hibbs said the boy was found Tuesday at 10:18 a.m. by the volunteer dive team called the Underwater Search Team.
Hibbs said the pond is about 11 feet deep.
In an interview with Global News on Monday evening, the boy’s mother said her son Hassan was with his twin brother at the time and was not swimming in the pond.
Ali Mouna Mohamed said Hassan was on the outdoor water slide when he jumped a rock, and slipped and fell into the water.
“My son said, ‘I tried to help him’ but couldn’t because he… went deep,” Mohamed said. “My husband went there to help. He couldn’t go there because it was so deep.”
Whitecourt RCMP and fire and emergency services responded to the area Sunday. The park was closed to the public.
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The search was paused on Sunday evening and resumed Monday morning.
Hibbs said the dive rescue team was not available until Tuesday because members were responding to other incidents.
A spokesperson with the Underwater Search Team said the group is non-funded and volunteer run.
The team is often called by the RCMP to help with underwater recoveries.
In an email, Audrey Shillabeer with UST said: “Two weeks ago, the UST recovered a victim of drowning in the north (Cold Lake). Last week they spent three days at Spray Lakes in southwestern Alberta and are still studying sonar images from that call to try to locate the victim. They were home just long enough to clean and re-fit their equipment when they got the Whitecourt call, and then immediately following: the Peace River call.”
Mohamed said she and her family were in Whitecourt on Sunday as an outing prior to going back to school.
“I didn’t come here to lose my child. I came here to give my child hope, to enjoy with them because we’ve going back to school soon.”
Whitecourt is about 180 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.
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