Young Boy Dies at Binbrook Conservation Area During Canada Day Celebration

WARNING: This story contains details about a child’s death.

A young boy who was found dead after going missing at Binbrook Conservation Area in Hamilton was part of the local Cameroonian community and was at the site as part of a community event, police said.

Nathanael Selambi, 7, went missing on Canada Day. He was last seen on the beach by an inflatable floating park located on Lake Niapenco at around 3 p. m. ET. His body was found in the water nearly a day later, on Thursday at 1:37 p. m., according to Const. Adam Kimber, public information officer for the Hamilton Police Service.

“It’s a hard day, of course, for his family.. our heart just really goes out to them,” he told CBC Hamilton on Friday.

“It is a hard time for our officers.. people that were there yesterday, we have families, we have kids. We can put ourselves in that position and it can be a lot for us to carry.”

Kimber told CBC Hamilton on Friday that Nathanael was attending a Canada Day event for the Cameroonian community on Wednesday at the site.

The boy was “playing in and around” with other kids near the water and was seen headed towards an inflatable structure called the Fun Splash Zone Park.

Park staff were turning people away at Binbrook Conservation Area Thursday morning as police worked in their search for the boy. (Justin Chandler/CBC)

Kimber said the “tragic” incident is not being investigated as suspicious.

Nathanael’s family is seeking privacy, said Kimber. He also said police victim services is supporting the family.

Elected officials such as Flamborough-Glanbrook MPP Donna Skelly and Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath have issued statements about the boy’s death.

“Today is a heartbreaking day for our community,” said Skelly in a social media post, offering condolences to the family.

Horwath also offered condolences and thanked police, “emergency responders, community partners, volunteers, and everyone who supported the search.”

Inflatable park owner says boy wasn’t playing there

It’s unclear if Nathanael ever made it to the inflatable park, Kimber said, but when the Peel Region dive team arrived on scene to assist police on Thursday, they saw his body submerged within the area of the inflatable park before divers even went into the water.

“We had quite inclement weather around 5 p. m. It did create some waves and create some disturbance in the water there. So from where he was located [Thursday] to where he became deceased is not clear,” Kimber said.

The region has experienced extreme heat for most of the week, with a humidex of 49 on Wednesday and a severe thunderstorm that quickly rolled through the area that evening. Police also said on Thursday there were around 1,000 people at the park for Canada Day.

The conservation area said it was closed for the investigation until Friday but would reopen Saturday.

Teresa Jackson, one of the owners of Fun Splash Sports Park, told CBC Hamilton that this incident was “devastating.”

“Our hearts are absolutely broken for the family that was affected by this absolute tragic loss.. and our thoughts are with the child’s loved ones during this unimaginably difficult time,” she said.

Jackson stated she doesn’t think Nathanael ever made it to their inflatable park because he would have had to “purchase a pass and get a risk test and go through our safety briefing” before going onto any inflatables and that process “was not ever done,” she added.

She mentioned that staff at her park helped search for Nathanael and collaborated with police during their investigation.

Jackson also explained how they review their safety protocols – which include multiple lifeguard stations along with mandatory use of life jackets – every year and feel “100 per cent confident” about running safely overall.

Kayaker dies in same lake in separate incident

A capsized kayaker was also found in Lake Niapenco during search operations related to Nathanael’s case according to Kimber. He later passed away.

The man involved was 61 years old; he enjoyed kayaking often and “was well known” around that conservation area based on what Kimber shared.

This incident wasn’t connected with Nathanael’s disappearance though; he surfaced around 6:20 p. m. Wednesday night according to Kimber’s report.

Kimber mentioned how while out kayaking when storms occurred , it appears somehow something happened leading him into distress resulting ultimately causing capsizing.

Kimber expressed how challenging this has been both emotionally & mentally especially given multiple officers engaged actively searching over broad territories including marine units assisted further via helicopter support too.

Bearing witness firsthand experiences like discovering Nathanel could remain etched permanently especially experiencing transporting him hospital bound being notably difficult alongside dealing simultaneously various factors presented throughout each encounter making lasting impressions felt deeply.

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