Boy who died at Binbrook Conservation Area was celebrating Canada Day with the Cameroonian community: police

Nathanael Selambi, 7, was found in the water near an inflatable playground Thursday

WARNING: This story contains details about a child's death.

A young boy who was found dead after going missing at Binbrook Conservation Area in Hamilton was part of the local Cameroonian community and was at the site as part of a community event, police said.

Nathanael Selambi, 7, went missing on Canada Day. He was last seen on the beach by an inflatable floating park located on Lake Niapenco at around 3 p.m. ET. His body was found in the water nearly a day later, on Thursday at 1:37 p.m., according to Const. Adam Kimber, public information officer for the Hamilton Police Service.

"It's a hard day, of course, for his family ... our heart just really goes out to them," he told CBC Hamilton on Friday.

"It is a hard time for our officers ... people that were there yesterday, we have families, we have kids. We can put ourselves in that position and it can be a lot for us to carry."

Kimber told CBC Hamilton on Friday that Nathanael was attending a Canada Day event for the Cameroonian community on Wednesday at the site.

The boy was "playing in and around" with other kids near the water and was seen headed towards an inflatable structure called the FunSplash Zone Park.

Kimber said the "tragic" incident is not being investigated as suspicious.

Nathanael's family is seeking privacy, said Kimber. He also said police victim services is supporting the family.

Elected officials such as Flamborough—Glanbrook MPP Donna Skelly and Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath have issued statements about the boy's death.

"Today is a heartbreaking day for our community," said Skelly in a social media post, offering condolences to the family.

Horwath also offered condolences and thanked police, "emergency responders, community partners, volunteers, and everyone who supported the search."

Inflatable park owner says boy wasn't playing there

It's unclear if Nathanael ever made it to the inflatable park, Kimber said, but when the Peel Region dive team arrived on scene to assist police on Thursday, they saw his body submerged within the area of the inflatable park before divers even went into the water.

"We had quite inclement weather around 5 p.m. It did create some waves and create some disturbance in the water there. So from where he was located [Thursday] to where he became deceased is not clear," Kimber said.

The region has experienced extreme heat for most of the week, with a humidex of 49 on Wednesday and a severe thunderstorm that quickly rolled through the area that evening. Police also said on Thursday there were around 1,000 people at the park for Canada Day.

The conservation area said it was closed for the investigation until Friday but would reopen Saturday.

Boy, 7, found dead at Binbrook Conservation Area after going missing on Canada Day, police say

Teresa Jackson, one of the owners of FunSplash Sports Park, told CBC Hamilton the incident was "devastating."

"Our hearts are absolutely broken for the family that was affected by this absolute tragic loss ... and our thoughts are with the child's loved ones during this unimaginably difficult time," she said.

Jackson said she doesn't think Nathanael ever made it to the inflatable park. He would have had to "purchase a pass and get a risk test and go through our safety briefing" before going on the inflatables and that was "not ever done," she said.

She said staff at the park supported in the search of Nathanael and also collaborated with the police investigation.

Jackson also said the park reviews its safety protocols — which include multiple lifeguard stations, mandatory use of a life jacket and continuous supervision — yearly and is "100 per cent confident" they run a safe operation.

Kayaker dies in same lake in separate incident

A capsized kayaker was also found in the same lake during search operations for Nathanael, according to Kimber. He was later pronounced dead.

The man, 61, was an avid kayaker and "well known" to the conservation area, he said.

He said the incident was unrelated to Nathanael's search. He was found at around 6:20 p.m. Wednesday, Kimber said.

He said the man was in the water when the storm hit and, at some point "experienced some kind of emergency on the water and the kayak capsized." Kimber said he's not sure if the emergency was medical or weather-related.

Kimber said it was a difficult day for police and those who were part of the search.

On Thursday, he said several units, including the mounted, ground search and marine units, were searching "quite a vast area." The Peel marine unit and an OPP helicopter were also supporting.

He said in his 15 years as an officers, there are calls that are hard and that officers "will always remember," and then there are calls that are "branded into your brain forever."

"That might be, for the officers that discovered Nathanael, that had to remove him from the water, had to transport him to the hospital. That is very hard and you'd never get over that."

Aura Carreño Rosas is a reporter at CBC Hamilton. She's originally from Venezuela. She has extensive experience in covering stories about immigrants and migrant workers as well as interesting people with diverse journeys. You can contact her at aura.carreno.rosas@cbc.ca

With files from Justin Chandler