Cops find body of missing Indian student near river in Canada

Toronto, June 20

Canadian police have found a body which they believe is of a 20-year-old student from Gujarat who reportedly went missing from a western Manitoba city last week.

Vishay Patel's body was found near the Assiniboine River and the Highway 110 bridge, just east of the Brandon city on Sunday, police said, adding that the identity of this individual has yet to be officially confirmed.

Patel was reported missing by relatives on the morning of June 16. He was caught on home video surveillance leaving his residence in a grey 2012 Honda Civic, The Brandon Sun reported.

The vehicle was found by the police at a local Home Depot parking lot in the evening of the same day Patel went missing.

An eyewitness told police that they possibly saw Patel walking towards the Riverbank Discovery Centre grounds.

By June 17 afternoon, the Brandon Police Service (BPS) told the public that they should avoid the Riverbank area due to an ongoing search and rescue operation.

"On the evening of June 18 (Sunday), members of the missing person's family located clothing near the Assiniboine River and the Highway 110 bridge. A search of the area by emergency services personnel resulted in the discovery of a deceased male," a release by the City of Brandon said.

The release stated that the Office of the Medical Examiner will be continuing the investigation even though no signs of foul play were found.

A family friend told The Brandon Sun that Patel, hailing from Gujarat, had been attending Assiniboine Community College as an international student for the last couple of Ayears.

Earlier this year, the body of 26-year-old Harsh Patel from Ghatlodia, Gujarat, who was pursuing an MBA at York University in Canada, was fished out from a river in Toronto.

Harsh went missing four days before his body was found by the Canadian police.