Jose Mendez’s Body Retrieved from Water Two Days after Canoe Capsized

Jose Mendez

The body of Jose Mendez was retrieved today, two days after his canoe capsized in Franks Eddy Village.  Police say that Mendez, his son and a friend were transporting some items in a motorized canoe when the engine cut off and caused the canoe to drift and suddenly overturn. Two of the men swam to shore, but Mendez went underwater and never resurfaced.  Family and friends have been searching for Mendez since Wednesday and it wasn’t until this afternoon that a body was found.   ACP Joseph Myvett tells us more.

Joseph Myvett

ACP Joseph Myvett, Head, National Crimes Investigation Branch

“In late afternoon, Police were called to Franks Eddy Village where it was reported to them by one Enrick Mendez that sometime earlier in the day, shortly before midday he and his father  forty-six-year-old Jose Mendez and another male person were in the process of crossing the flooded river to secure some items they had on the other side of the river and at the time they were in an small canoe that had an outboard engine and somewhere near the middle of the river, the engine shut off and they drifted for a little while and eventually the vessel capsized. During the process, Enrick Mendez and the other person were able to swim to shore whilst Jose Mendez was not found and since then there has been ongoing search by coast guard, police, villagers and family members   and today sometime around two-twenty pm, a body was located somewhere in the area of Dark Night on the river and police and scenes of crime personnel are on the way to process the scene and determine whether or not that is the missing man.”

The family confirmed to News Five that the body found is that of Jose Mendez.