Body Of Missing 21-Year-Old Congolese Student Was Found In River
The 21-year-old missing Congolese student Alexandra Martine Diengo Lumbayi has been identified as the body that was discovered Tuesday morning, October 8, close to the marina on Saint-Quentin Island in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada.
On October 2, 2024, in the afternoon, Lumbayi, who was a student at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, was last seen on the island.
A kayaker discovered her body in the St. Maurice River on Tuesday at around 10:20 a.m., according to the local police.
The body found submerged in the water between the marina and the Kruger Wayagamack Inc. property.
According to Radio-Canada, Lumbayi was identified by the coroner on Tuesday afternoon.
After a few days of not hearing from her, her mother, Rosemine Ndjondo, of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, reported her missing.
Over the weekend, she made an appeal for assistance in a video that she uploaded to TikTok, raising the alarm about Lumbayi’s abduction.
“I haven’t been drinking, I’m not eating, I’m not sleeping. I don’t even know how to close my eyes anymore or how to live,” said Ndjondo through tears in the video.
Provincial police have been leading searches for Lumbayi since Friday and continue to examine the circumstances of her d3ath.
On Sunday, students and people from the Congolese, Cameroonian, and Senegalese communities participated in the search and arrived on the island early on Tuesday.
Following the recovery of Alexandra’s body, her mother has spoken out.
“Alexandra was the only daughter I had when I was 17, her father had denied the pregnancy and I suffered with my daughter,” she said..
“Imagine that I was chased away by my parents and I was renounced by her father. I raised my daughter by being her mother and her father at the same time.
“I sent her to the best schools in Cameroon. South Africa and Canada while I was struggling but at the age of 21, she left me. My daughter was my best friend, my treasure. What will my life be without her?”
A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.
Nnamdi Okoli
