The body of a 16-year-old teenager, who allegedly slipped into the L’Assomption River in Joliette after school, was recovered Thursday evening after an intense search.
“We are all devastated […] He’s a little guy full of life, he loved life so much,” says Jeanwell St-Fleur, godfather and uncle of David Charles.
After several hours of searching, Sûreté du Québec police officers finally located the 16-year-old in the river late in the evening.
The police received a call around 2:30 p.m. informing them that young David Charles had never returned to the surface of the river, near the CLSC de Joliette on Boulevard de la Base-de-Roc, reported Ève Brochu- Joubert, spokesperson for the Sûreté du Québec (SQ).
Credit Anouk Lebel
In the evening, the whole family waited for the Sûreté du Québec to fish out the eldest of a family of two children.
Credit Anouk Lebel
Fear of water
“We can’t find a word to explain what we feel right now, it’s excruciating pain,” said his emotional uncle.
“He’s an incredible kid. His family is waiting for him with open arms,” said his cousin Molly St-Fleur, who still hoped that he would be found alive.
They claim that the young man would never have jumped into the water on his own. He was afraid of water and didn’t know how to swim, they say.
“He’s one of the best guys I know. I can not believe it. His mother is devastated,” says Mohammed Bajrami, 15, who considered him his best friend.
“He was really a kind and respectful person, who would not have hurt anyone,” says Nathias Péloquin, another of his friends.
Screenshot TVA News
Social pressure
According to what his friends learned, he went to the river with several people after school. He slipped in the water and hit his head on a rock. The group reportedly failed to save him and called the police.
He would have suffered social pressure to go in the water, according to what his relatives said.
