Body of missing Cambridge man found in river
KITCHENER — The body of Clay Collison was pulled from the Grand River on Tuesday morning, leaving family and friends heartbroken after hundreds came out on Thanksgiving Day to search for him.
The 20-yearold Cambridge man was found by a man fishing in the river off the Walter Bean Grand River Trail in Kolb Park on Centennial Court. He was found at about 11 a.m. in the area of the Victoria Street railway bridge.
Friends, many of them football players with the Cambridge Lions, gathered at the site, sitting on a hill. They were quiet and sombre and many shed tears, embracing each other as they stared at the river. Family members stood at the river’s edge.
Collison went out Friday night with a group of friends to an Oktoberfest party at Bingemans. He was last seen at 2 a.m. Saturday.
His sister, Kayla Collison, said her brother left Bingemans with a male friend, but the pair got separated and Clay wanted to get home.
Friends believe his plan was to walk home to the area of Shantz Hill in Preston.
His friend found a ride and texted Collison to tell him to meet him in the parking lot of the Mercedes-Benz dealership on Victoria Street North to go home together.
But they couldn’t find Collison. By this time, 4 a.m., Collison’s phone was dead.
Kenny and Jen Sipes live in Preston, six blocks from the Collisons.
They have been family friends for years. Jen and Clay’s mother,
Kelly Collison, were pregnant together. Their boys were born two weeks apart.
“He’s been at our house from the time he was born,” said Jen.
“The kids grew up together, socialized together,” said Kenny. “The door is always open for these kids.”
“He was such a good kid, always polite,” Jen said.
The couple was among hundreds who searched the shoreline on Monday, hoping they would find a clue pointing to Collison’s whereabouts.
“We probably walked by that area 100 times yesterday,” said Jen, who walked the river’s edge near the spot where Collison was found.
“It could have been any one of these kids. It’s no one’s fault,” said Kenny. “It’s a tragic accident.”
Collison’s friend who left with him on Friday night sat on the hill. Kenny Sipes said the boys played football at Preston High School and then the Cambridge Lions after graduation.
Collison was a fierce defensive end and those who played against him feared him. Collison, a tire technician at Kal Tire, was a car enthusiast who was also into race car driving.
Collison’s disappearance sparked a community response with family and friends putting together a flyer and many gathering at the Breslau Community Centre on Monday.
Hundreds walked along the river in the area and as far as Freeport Hospital, Riverside Park and behind Cambridge Memorial Hospital.
Cambridge Fire Acting Platoon Chief Al Young said firefighters used their air boat and searched the river for four hours in the area behind Freeport and Cambridge Memorial.
Local police also had the assistance of drones from OPP in Mitchell to scan the water on Monday. Police have said they do not believe there was any foul play.
Insp. Mike Haffner praised the community for assisting with the search for Collison.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family. We saw great community support and people working together to locate Clayton,” he said.
Collison is survived by his parents Bill and Kelly Collison, sisters Kayla and Abigail Collison and brother Lorne Neely.
A GoFundMe page has been created to raise $5,000 for the family: gofundme.com/supportfor-the-family-of-clay.