Missing kayaker’s body recovered
University of Guelph mourns students remembered by community as ‘vibrant’ pair
The body of Georgetown’s Zach Sutherland was pulled from the Credit River on Tuesday, completing the grim duties of the OPP after both Sutherland and his girlfriend, Kaya Firth, apparently fell from their kayaks on the weekend and died.
At noon Tuesday, an Ontario Provincial Police dive team retrieved the remains of Sutherland, a 21-year-old fourth-year commerce student at the University of Guelph. He could not initially be found Sunday after police retrieved the body of his girlfriend, fourth-year fellow Guelph student Kaya Firth, following the discovery of two empty kayaks stuck in the ice in the middle of the river, near the Caledon-Halton Hills border.
It appears the couple had attempted to cross a frozen section of the Credit River near the Terra Cotta Inn when they ran into trouble and fell out of their kayaks. The spot where the yellow kayaks were seen stuck Sunday afternoon is well known to locals as an ideal summertime swimming spot.
“It’s not common to see kayakers around this time of year but it was just such a beautiful day (Sunday),” said longtime area resident Jamie Bobechko.
“I’ve just never seen anything like this happen in the 19 years we’ve been here.”
Staff at the Ontarion, the University of Guelph student paper, posted a statement on their website about the deaths. Firth was an English major and the paper’s sports and health editor.
“Kaya’s adventurous spirit, her willingness to learn, and her profound kindness characterized her time in our office, and she will not be forgotten. Our staff, our volunteers, and the members of the University of Guelph community will remember her fondly,” the statement read.
Both Firth and Sutherland had previously attended Georgetown District High School, about 10 kilometres from where they died.
Sutherland was the son of Dr. Jeff Sutherland, a Georgetown doctor with ALS who has tirelessly raised money and awareness of the disease. He started the Georgetown Acton Walk back in 2009, and it’s since become an annual event.
The university said Sunday that it would be lowering its campus flags to half-staff in honour of the two students.
“Our hearts and thoughts go out to the friends and families of these two vibrant young people,” said University of Guelph president Franco Vaccarino. With files from Caledon Enterprise