The mother of a three-year-old boy who was swept into the Grand River earlier this year confirms that the search for the child has now “come to an end.” 
Ontario Provincial Police said Saturday that the body of a “young person” was found in the river near the village of Belwood at around 3 p.m. yesterday. Police added that they would not confirm the identity of the deceased until a post-mortem examination had been conducted.
In a Facebook post published Sunday, Kaden Young’s mother, Michelle Hanson, said the months-long search for her son has now ended.
“It has been a long extremely draining two months of searching and now has finally come to an end,” Hanson’s Facebook post read Sunday.
She wrote, “The amount of support was absolutely incredible and we really can’t thank everyone enough.”
On Feb. 21, Hanson was driving with Kaden when she accidentally missed a road-closure sign and her minivan was swept off the washed-out road and into the fast-moving river during a flood. She managed to free herself and Kaden from the vehicle, but the force of the water wrenched the boy from her arms.
Family members said Hanson hadn’t seen the road-closure sign due to dark and foggy conditions. It was about 1 a.m. when the vehicle hit the water.
OPP Const. Paul Nancekivell said that a fisherman found the body under the County Rd. 26 bridge that goes over the Grand River in Belwood — about 14 kilometres away from where Kaden was pulled into the water.
The body was found in a cluster of trees and shrubs where a Canada goose was nesting near the shore. An autopsy will be conducted in Toronto today.
