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 The car in which four Montreal women were found dead, submerged at a canal lock station in Kingston, sits on a flatbed after being raised from the water on June 30, 2009. (SUN MEDIA file photo) |
KINGSTON - The Montreal family that lost four members in a baffling tragedy at Kingston Mills locks on the Rideau Canal may soon visit the spot.
"We're going to be in that place maybe in Kingston in a couple of days," Ali Shafi told Sun Media in a telephone interview from Montreal. The 15-year-old boy lost his three sisters -- Zainab, 19, Sahar, 17, and Geeti, 13 -- along with aunt Rona Amir Mohammed, 50, a week and a half ago.
They were found dead June 30 in a car submerged in about three metres of water just beyond the gates of the northernmost lock at Kingston Mills.
Ali said the family hopes to make the trip sometime after a funeral is held tomorrow. A service and burial was held last weekend.
"We just have to say some prayers," said Ali, who spoke for his family, noting that his mother and father "don't speak English or French very well."
The Shafi family, natives of Kabul, Afghanistan, have lived in Montreal for two years. They lived in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates for 15 years before that. Ali said they still don't know how their family members died.
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"We don't have the autopsy results yet," he said.
Regional coroner Dr. Roger Skinner said the autopsies were completed last Thursday. He said results are given to families and the police but he cannot disclose them publicly. It could take weeks to get the results of additional testing being done.
The submerged car was found June 30 by a Parks Canada worker. The Nissan Sentra's front end was facing the stone wall, as if the car plunged off the ledge backwards. The car was resting on its wheels, close to the lock gate.
Investigators have been stymied by a lack of clear evidence showing the car's path to the water. There are only a few minor scuff marks on many obstacles that would hinder a car heading for the edge. Though there were tire tracks, they did not provide a definitive explanation.
Kingston Police have said they are treating the case as "suspicious," but said they have not found evidence of foul play.
The family has said they were returning home on June 29 from a trip to Niagara Falls and decided to stop in Kingston to spend the night because they were fatigued. They said they stopped at a motel.
Tooba Mohammed Yhaya, Ali's mother, has said previously that some time after 1 a.m., her daughter Zainab came and asked for the keys to the Nissan to retrieve clothes. The next morning, Yhaya and her husband, Mohammed Shafi, noticed that the Nissan and the four family members were missing, they have said.
They filed a report with Kingston Police, but, believing the other group had left for home, they drove on to Montreal. The sunken car was discovered between 8:30 and 9 a. m. Tuesday when lock workers were preparing to move the first boats of the day through the four locks.
Kingston Police have been canvassing businesses along Hwy. 15 in the past week to 10 days, seeking information and surveillance video, Sun Media has learned.