Teens dead after falling through ice on Rideau River attended same Ottawa high school

OTTAWA — A spokeswoman for an Ottawa school board says its community is feeling the tragedy deeply after local police confirmed the deaths of two teens who fell through ice on the Rideau River in the city’s south end. 

Diane Pernari of the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board says both Ahmed Ahmed and Riley Cotter were students at John McCrae Secondary School, which she says will have mental-health supports available for students when they return in the new year. 

Two graduates of the school came to the area where police were searching on Thursday and said they knew both of the teens. 

Police said emergency crews were called late Wednesday after a report came in about a group of four teens falling through the ice.

Carly Roome says she called 911 shortly after 9:30 p.m., when a boy ran to her family’s nearby home looking for help. 

Police said Thursday morning that two teens were taken to hospital and divers found one of two missing boys dead, confirming later that evening that they had found a second body. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 29, 2023. 

The Canadian Press