Body of 6-year-old boy found in pond in Cold Lake, Alta., after community-wide search

Hundreds of people in Cold Lake, Alta., spent hours searching for a missing six-year-old boy on Sunday night before his body was found in a pond.

RCMP confirmed around midnight Ibukun Adeniyi was found and called the community search off. 

The death is not considered suspicious, RCMP said. 

Those involved in the search described quads, bicycles, horses, and people on foot combing the area in search of the boy.

A spokesperson from Search and Rescue Alberta said five teams were deployed and were joined by hundreds of community volunteers. It estimates there were likely 350-400 people searching for the boy.

Cold Lake Mayor Craig Copeland was among them.

He said balloons were seen near the neighbourhood pond and search efforts concentrated around the water. 

The family was new to Cold Lake from Nigeria and came to set up a family doctor practice in the city. Copeland said he was one of the people who picked the family up from the Edmonton airport.

"When I heard who the boy was missing, I kind of went, 'Oh my God, it's that young fellow,'" Copeland said.

"People have to realize that when foreign doctors come to rural Alberta, they're giving up everything back home and the idea is that they're doing it mostly for their kids — for their future life."

The boy was a student of Lakeland Catholic Schools. In a news release, Superintendent Sheldon Germain described it as a profound loss for the community. Supports are being offered through the school for all those affected.

Mark McMillan, the pastor at Cold Lake Community Church, was also involved in the search. The boy attended his church and went to the same school as his children.

"It's heartbreaking to know that this young, energetic boy's life was cut short way too early."

WATCH | CBC's Travis McEwan was in Cold Lake on Monday:

Cold Lake grieving death of young boy

2 days ago

Duration 1:43

The mayor of Cold Lake, Alta., says hundreds of people searched for a 6-year-old boy, who was eventually found dead in a pond. The family is from Nigeria and had started a medical practice in the city. Travis McEwan has the details from Cold Lake.

Alongside that grief, McMillan said it was reassuring to see the community come together for someone in need.

"You don't always sense that in the modern world," he said.

"Especially in Cold Lake — it's a very transient community with military and oil and gas. And so it was great to see the community come together to rise up and meet the challenge of the day."

McMillan said there will be a memorial at the school and there is a fundraising campaign to help support the family at this time.