KITCHENER -- The OPP have recovered the body of a missing Hamilton man from the Grand River, according to officers at the scene.
Police spent the day searching for 24-year-old Nagim Mohamed, who was reported missing on Wednesday night. Officers at the scene confirmed to CTV News Kitchener that Mohamed's body was recovered from the river.
According to police, Mohamed took a personal watercraft onto the river on Wednesday evening. They say he wasn't wearing a life jacket at the time. His watercraft was found three kilometres east of the park just before 8 p.m.
His body was recovered from the water around 4:25 p.m. Thursday.
Jessie Smith and Dan Farrar were out boating on the Grand River on Wednesday night when they heard a man frantically calling for help.
"When he first came up, he was on a Sea-Doo and he was like 'There's someone missing'" Smith said. "He said 'We found the Sea-Doo but we didn't find him, can you call 911?'"
Smith said they started searching the river.
"We went from our trailer all the way down to the rapids, basically where it drops over, as far as we can go on our boat and back," Smith said.
"We'd seen something in the water, but it wasn't Nagim, it was a piece of wood," Farrar said. "But, I still jumped in."
The OPP are reminding people to take proper safety precautions before heading out into the water.
"Just want to put it out there to anyone that may be a water enthusiast, that if you are travelling out on the water, that you are wearing your [personal floatation device] and your life jacket," Const. Ed Sanchuk with the OPP said. "It's too late to put it on once you're out on the water. Once you fall in, it will save your life. Regardless of how strong a swimmer you are, or how weak you are, always make sure to go out with a buddy system."
Police say they have scheduled a post-mortem examination to determine the cause of death.
