Body discovered in water near Petrie Island: police

Ottawa police are investigating after a body was found in the water near Petrie Island on Saturday evening. CTV’s Natalie van Rooy reports.

Police say a body was discovered in the water near Petrie Island in Ottawa’s east end on Saturday evening.

Ottawa police say the Marine, Dive and Trails Unit recovered the body from the Ottawa River.

The deceased has not yet been identified and an investigation is underway.

Residents in the area say they saw a large police presence in the area.

“It was all blocked off and I saw a big group of police cars and sirens and stuff like that down here, but you couldn’t come down to see anything more than that,” said Erik Mikkelsen.

“We have lived here almost a year now and this is part of our daily walk and it’s nice to see wildlife down here, but not to hear that they found a body. It’s really sad. It’s sad for that person, their family.”

Bob Riel said he felt unsettled by the discovery.

“We live in the area and it’s unsettling, but it’s unsettling anytime when a death happens so you consider how it happened and what happened. Hearts go out to the family,” he said.

With files from CTV’s Natalie van Rooy

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