South Simcoe police have confirmed the body they discovered late Friday to be that of missing 15-year-old Siem Zerezghi.
On Monday, police provided an update on their investigation, saying a post-mortem was conducted revealing the cause of death.
“We know that the cause of death at this current time is by drowning,” South Simcoe police chief Andrew Fletcher said.
“We do not believe that any foul play is suspected. The investigation into Siem’s death is continuing and will continue today.”
UPDATE -NOV. 2/20 MISSING YOUTH: Chief Andrew Fletcher confirms that a body found in a #Bradford pond is that of 15-year-old Siem Zerezghi. The cause of his death was determined to be drowning. pic.twitter.com/AdbqdtcBMu
— South Simcoe Police (@SouthSimcoePS) November 2, 2020
Fletcher says police in Bradford are still seeking information from the public with hopes of attaining more clarity into the final moments preceding the teenager’s death.
“We don’t know what drew him to that pond but we do know he was familiar with it,” Fletcher said.
“It was a regular route for Siem to travel from his parents house to his aunt’s house. We know that his father took him there to play sports so he is familiar with the area. It’s not suspicious in any way to find him at that pond.”
Last Friday, police held a media scrum confirming they had discovered a body near a local pond in the Professor Day Drive area.
Around 3 p.m. that day, investigators located items they believed to belong to Zerezghi.
The boy had been not been seen since the early morning hours on Saturday, Oct. 24.
“As the investigation unraveled, we started to gather more and more information, we did identify that Siem left his home at 7:45 that Saturday morning,” Fletcher confirmed.
“That information came to us because of the great help we received from the community.”
A candlelight vigil was held in Bradford late Sunday in Siem’s memory.
