A Fanshawe College student who went missing last month has been found dead on a beach in Port Bruce.
Recommended Videos
Nidhua Muktadir, 19, was reported missing on Dec. 4 after she was last seen one day earlier on Hawk Cliff Road about five kilometres northeast of Port Stanley, prompting a large-scale search of the area involving OPP divers and drones.
Ontario Provincial Police on Tuesday identified the body found by a citizen Saturday on Waneeta Beach as a 19-year-old missing from London since Dec. 4. They did not name the deceased.
“No foul play is suspected as police continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding this death,” Ontario Provincial Police said in a statement.
Abraham Muktadir, Nidhua’s brother, confirmed in a phone interview with The London Free Press he has heard from police about her body being found.
He extends his gratitude to first responders and people who searched for her, saying they worked through uphill circumstances in her disappearance, but that “we really, really appreciate you guys, and thank you.
“All I can say is that she was very strong and brave – always has been, and that’s how I would remember her,” Abraham Muktadir said.
The discovery of the missing woman’s body, roughly 40 kilometres from London, came just two days after Muktadir’s mother expressed hope that her daughter would be found alive.
“I think I’m still dreaming, but this is a bad dream and I’ll wake up and find that everything is OK,” Samina Nasrin Chowdhury told The London Free Press. “I’m so devastated. I only want her back, that’s it.”
Chowdhury, who lives in Toronto, said she last spoke with her daughter, a second-year nursing student, over the phone on Nov. 29, describing it as a “nice conversation.
“She was not sad,” said Chowdhury, who came to Canada from Bangladesh when her daughter was nine. “She was rather happy. Usually, she was not very enthusiastic when she was talking to me on the phone. But on that day, she was very enthusiastic.”
London police released a surveillance image in December showing Muktadir wearing a black jacket, purple hooded sweater, pink-and-white scarf and white running shoes carrying a white backpack and a suitcase.
– with files from Free Press reporter Jack Moulton