Family, friends of missing teen still waiting for post-mortem update

Results of a post-mortem examination have yet to identify a male body found in the Kaministiquia River Tuesday evening.

The exam began around 2 p.m. Wednesday in Thunder Bay. Police spokesman Chris Adams said he hopes to hear the results, which include positive identification and possibly a probable cause of death, by Thursday night or Friday morning.

Adams confirmed that the case of 15-year-old Jordan Wabasse, missing since Feb.7, is the only known missing persons case in the area near the Western Grain Elevators off Kingston Street, which was where boaters found the body Wednesday evening.

Adams cautioned that those facts do not make for a positive identification, and that only the examination can do that.

"It’s certainly been the one that’s been the focus of a water search and extensive ground search of that area around the river. I can’t really speculate on the identity of that person," Adams said. "We’re very careful in what we say publicly because it’s very important that the first persons that hear any news like that are the family and we like to have our officers do that in person."

About 100 people, including community leaders, such as Mayor Keith Hobbs and Webequie First Nations Chief Cornelius Wabasse, were at the Airlane Travelodge Hotel waiting for news about the identity of the body found.

Family and friends of Jordan sat and stood together in groups around the Madrid Room and lobby of the hotel, some with their head in their hands, others texting and talking quietly on cell phones in corners of the room.

Teenaged boys, dressed as Jordan had in photographs with T-shirts and baseball caps, stood and talked among one another while younger children played video games as the support group continued to wait for more information regarding the post-mortem.

Chief Wabasse and volunteer search co-ordinator Lillian Suganaqueb, who leads a group that has searched for Jordan for over 90 days, are expected to comment once the examination is complete.