Parry Sound family shares its heartache after tragic loss of son during camping trip
What was supposed to be a nice family camping trip before back to school, has ended in a nightmare.
Nine-year-old Everett Freeman went camping with his family on Huckleberry Island in Georgian Bay, and went missing around 3 p.m. on Friday.
After a 24-hour search, it ended in tragedy when Freeman's body was recovered.
"He was one in a million, he was so smart, so kind, so compassionate and so loving," said Korey Freeman, the father of Everett. "We went there Thursday night, and Friday the kids were playing hide and seek. Everett was playing with some of his younger cousins, the game petered off and he wandered off . He's an introvert so sometimes he needed a bit of space."
OPP began a major search effort, lasting well overnight into Saturday.
Their search included three canine units, aviation services, their marine unit and their underwater search & recovery team.
Local fire departments and the Canadian Search and Rescue Team were also helping out in the search.
The young boy's body was retrieved from the water.
The family said it doesn't know how this could have happened.
"We're just so grateful, we're so heartbroken but so grateful we had Everett for these nine years," said the devastated father, Korey Freeman.
Everett's father told CTV News that he's incredibly thankful to the police and everyone involved in the search.
An outpouring of support and condolences have also flooded Freeman's social media, for which he said he's forever grateful.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
From essential goods to common stocking stuffers, Trudeau offering Canadians temporary tax relief
Canadians will soon receive a temporary tax break on several items, along with a one-time $250 rebate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
She thought her children just had a cough or fever. A mother shares sons' experience with walking pneumonia
A mother shares with CTVNews.ca her family's health scare as medical experts say cases of the disease and other respiratory illnesses have surged, filling up emergency departments nationwide.
Trump chooses Pam Bondi for attorney general pick after Gaetz withdraws
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump on Thursday named Pam Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida, to be U.S. attorney general just hours after his other choice, Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name from consideration.
Putin says Russia attacked Ukraine with a new missile that he claims the West can't stop
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Thursday that Moscow has tested a new intermediate-range missile in a strike on Ukraine, and he warned that it could use the weapon against countries that have allowed Kyiv to use their missiles to strike Russia.
Here's a list of items that will be GST/HST-free over the holidays
Canadians won’t have to pay GST on a selection of items this holiday season, the prime minister vowed on Thursday.
A one-of-a-kind Royal Canadian Mint coin sells for more than $1.5M
A rare one-of-a-kind pure gold coin from the Royal Canadian Mint has sold for more than $1.5 million. The 99.99 per cent pure gold coin, named 'The Dance Screen (The Scream Too),' weighs a whopping 10 kilograms and surpassed the previous record for a coin offered at an auction in Canada.
Video shows octopus 'hanging on for dear life' during bomb cyclone off B.C. coast
Humans weren’t the only ones who struggled through the bomb cyclone that formed off the B.C. coast this week, bringing intense winds and choppy seas.
Taylor Swift's motorcade spotted along Toronto's Gardiner Expressway
Taylor Swift is officially back in Toronto for round two. The popstar princess's motorcade was seen driving along the Gardiner Expressway on Thursday afternoon, making its way to the downtown core ahead of night four of ‘The Eras Tour’ at the Rogers Centre.
Service Canada holding back 85K passports amid Canada Post mail strike
Approximately 85,000 new passports are being held back by Service Canada, which stopped mailing them out a week before the nationwide Canada Post strike.