Police recover body of man from Grand
Posted 1 day ago | Updated 1 day ago
Provincial police have recovered a body they believe to be that of Leo Sexsmith, the 58-year city man who went missing and was presumed drowned after a boating mishap on the Grand River last week.
The OPP canine unit and emergency response team members were continuing their search for Sexsmith on Wednesday when they found a body floating in an isolated area of the river.
The body was pulled out of the river at about 4 p.m. and sent to a Hamilton hospital where a post-mortem will be conducted Thursday to establish positive identity and the cause of death, a spokesman for the Brant OPP said.
Sexsmith had disappeared last Thursday while boating with a friend, a 60-year-old Burford man.
The pair had entered the water at a Beach Road address sometime after noon and travelled down the river.
At some point, Sexsmith went into the river and failed to resurface. His friend, who has not been identified by police, was found at the river's edge about 5:30 p.m. Friday by two people paddling a canoe.
Noticing the man appeared to be in distress, they continued up the river until they met a pedestrian who was asked to call police.
Police and rescue workers from the Brant County fire department spent the weekend looking for Sexsmith.
Their efforts included an underwater search.
This was in the Brantford newspaper