Survivor of river tragedy rescued sister from frigid water, woman says

A woman whose family helped two survivors of Wednesday's tragedy on the Rideau River said a teen who emerged alive saved his sister and was upset his two friends were still in the water.

"'My friends fell through the ice,'" Carly Roome recalls the soaking wet boy saying Wednesday night. 

"He was really, really upset," Roome added. "He had tried to save his friend."

Four teenagers had told family they were going skating before they ended up in the river near Nicolls Island Road, close to the community of Manotick south of Ottawa's core.

Two bodies have since been recovered. They've been identified by family, friends and the Ontario coroner's office as Ahmed Ahmed, 17, and Riley Cotter, 17.

A vigil in Ahmed and Cotter's memory was held at the site Friday night. 

'He did everything he could'

Roome's family lives amid a cluster of homes on Nicolls Island.

The neighbourhood is up a small hill and down a narrow road from the shore where police retrieved the bodies, although it's unclear exactly where the teens plunged through the ice. 

Roome said the survivor came to their door yelling for help around 9:30 p.m., wearing a T-shirt, socks and shorts. He didn't appear to have a phone, Roome said.

The family called 911 right away and then went by the water to comfort him and his sister, providing blankets. Police arrived quickly, she said. 

"He needed to save his friends," Roome said of what the freezing survivor told her. "He did everything he could. I really feel for [him]."

The survivor and his sister were taken to hospital and treated for mild hypothermia, according to paramedics. A police diver was also hospitalized.

Ahmed and Cotter were students at John McCrae Secondary School, according a spokesperson for the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board. They said in an email the deaths will be deeply felt by students and staff.

"Without diminishing other tragic incidents, it's so much worse that it happened this time of year," said Barrhaven East Coun. Wilson Lo, whose ward includes some of that school's families.

Wednesday's incident and others like it across Canada have officials warning about the dangers of venturing onto thin ice or near bodies of water.

River ice 'did not look safe at all'

Janet Harrison was walking her dog by the Nicolls Island site on Friday afternoon.

She's lived on Nicolls Island Road for almost 40 years and said she's never seen anyone skating on the area of the river where police were searching.

Harrison said she also walked by the shoreline on Wednesday afternoon and noticed how thin the ice was. 

"It really did not look safe at all," she said.