Bodies recovered in search off Sandpoint Beach

Windsor police report the bodies of two young men swept underwater by the current near Sandpoint Beach have been recovered.

According to investigators, both were found shortly before 8 p.m. on Friday — a little more than a day after a 911 call came in to report they had gone missing.

Police reported the two men, both in their 20s, and a third had entered the water of Lake St. Clair before the third watched them both get swept away.

The day that followed was one rife with agony for the friends and family waiting on the shore.

“As of now, we don’t have any hope,” Chuda Bajgai, the uncle of one of the victims, told CTV News around 7:00 p.m. — shortly before the search concluded.

The beach is officially closed to swimming with signage posted along fenced-off portions of the shoreline warning residents of the dangers.

Lifeguards are not scheduled to take their post until mid-June.

Police said foul play is not suspected.

Yogesh Bajgai, pictured, was one of two victims to drown in waters off the shores of Sandpoint Beach on May 23, 2024. (Photo courtesy Facebook/YO Gesh Bajgai)

 

Victims identified

Bajgai said his nephew, 26-year-old Yogesh Bajgai, was one of the two men lost to the water.

“The family is not doing well. Especially Yogesh's mom, who is in poor health,” he said. “He was the one who supported his family and siblings.”

Bajgai said his nephew was a hardworking man. So much so, that he had only just started to take advantage of the time he wasn’t working and getting out to have fun with friends.

That’s what he sought to do Thursday when he went to Sandpoint Beach.

In a social media post from St. Clair College, the second victim was identified as graduate Rohit Dheer. 

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of both during this difficult time," the college wrote.

 

Recurring issue

Angelo Marignani, the Windsor city councillor in the area, said the stretch where the men entered the water is infamously dangerous. Marignani said the pair recovered Friday are the seventh and eighth lives to be claimed by the current along the Sandpoint shoreline.

He stepped away from his conversation with CTV News on Friday to warn others at the beach of the fenced off area.

"There's been two times — you just saw the third time — that someone's gone to the area,” said Marignani.

“People usually say, 'We got pulled this way,’” added Marignani. “Well yeah, and if you go further, you're going to get pulled quicker."

Marignani said city hall is already working towards bolstering the safety features employed at the beach, with work being done to shift the high-traffic part of the beach even further east from the dangerous current.

He plans to raise a question at Monday’s regular meeting of council to see if that process can be sped up.