The body of a 15-year-old Toronto student who went missing during a school trip has been found in a lake in Ontario鈥檚 Algonquin Provincial Park.
Ontario Provincial Police Const. Catherine Yarmel said the teen鈥檚 body was found Wednesday afternoon in Big Trout Lake.
Family members have identified the teen as Jeremiah Perry, a student at C.W. Jefferys Collegiate Institute who moved to Toronto from Guyana last September.
Perry and his older brother joined more than 30 other students on the trip to the provincial park as part of a summer school outdoor education program.
Perry鈥檚 stepmother, Jennifer Anderson, told CP24 that she and her husband got a call from a school official late Tuesday night, informing them that one of their sons was missing. The family was told that the teen had been swimming and is presumed drowned.
鈥淭hey got the search party to start, but they called it off because it was getting dark," Anderson said earlier Wednesday. 鈥淲e are hopeful that we are going to find him.鈥�
The teen鈥檚 father, Joshua Anderson, said he had no safety concerns when he sent his sons on the school trip and believed that all the proper protocols would be followed.
Shari Schwartz-Maltz, a spokesperson for the Toronto District School Board, told CP24 that all students had to take a swim test before they could go on the trip.
She said six adult supervisors, including two teachers, were on the outing.
鈥淲e feel that we did have adequate supervision.鈥�
The school board was working to bring the other students home 鈥渁s soon as possible,鈥� Schwartz-Maltz said.
School board president John Malloy said in a statement that the summer outdoor education course and program has been running for several years with 鈥渁n excellent safety record.鈥�
鈥淲e know all staff involved are committed to reviewing each and every aspect of this tragedy to assure ourselves and our communities of our safety procedures.鈥�
The school board will not make any conclusions about the teen鈥檚 death until the OPP complete their investigation, Malloy said.
鈥淚n the meantime, our focus remains on supporting the family and all those impacted by this tragic event and on bringing all students and staff home as quickly as possible,鈥� he said.
Malloy said that supports have been offered to Perry鈥檚 family, as well as students and staff affected by the death.
The students had portaged into a remote section of Algonquin Park, and the TDSB sent a bus to the area Wednesday to meet the group. A child and youth worker is also on the way to meet the kids, Schwartz-Maltz said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a difficult day, but we hope to provide as much support as possible,鈥� she said.
Algonquin Park is located approximately 275 kilometres northeast of Toronto.
With files from CP24 and CTV Toronto
