Jesse Babiuch: Father-of-two, 21, found dead days after his canoe capsized in Ohio river, family says he was a 'wild, loving soul'
LUCAS COUNTY, OHIO: A young man's body was located in an Ohio river after his canoe capsized on Sunday, April 30. Jesse Babiuch, 21, was reported missing after his canoe sank in the Maumee River. Around 3.30 pm on Sunday, the father-of-two was on the boat along with his two friends when it capsized, as per the description of a GoFundMe page set up for his funeral expenses.
Jesse's cousin Brandi Babiuch who organized the page said that the victim's friends made it back to shore but immediately realized that Jesse has not returned. On Wednesday, May 3, divers found the body at the bottom of the river, confirmed the Toledo Fire and Rescue Department. The remains were then determined to be Jesse's, according to he Lucas County Coroner's Office, reported People.
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'A wild, loving soul'
Describing Jesse as a "wild, loving soul," Brandi said her late cousin "loved his family very dearly." The young man leaves behind two daughters, a 2-year-old and a 6-month-old.
On the GoFundMe page, Brandi wrote that Jesse was "the light to everyone's life and had a smile that would make anyone smile. He always put everyone before himself!" His family last contacted him on Sunday at around 3 pm just half an hour before he vanished. The boat reportedly capsized near the DiSalle Bridge.
'He just disappeared'
Talking to WTVG, Jesse's close friend Trinity Morris said that one of the young man's friends said that the three of them had to take their clothes off so the trio "wouldn't weigh them down."
"But they said when they got to shore, they couldn't find him and he wasn't there. He just disappeared," she said. Using sonar technology, two TFRD watercraft locked down on "a credible target" in the 15-feet deep river. Jesse's body was discovered in a short time during the search, according to Toledo Fire and Rescue.
Before the young man's body was found, Morris said, "Jesse didn't deserve this. He would have taken the shirt off his back for anybody. He would have jumped in that water to save anybody."
Jesse's Emily White said that he enjoyed fishing and boating and was also good at swimming. "Where do I even start on the love he had for fishing! Rain snow sleet or shine Jesse would go down to the river to fish," Brandi wrote. According to Toledo Fire and Rescue, an investigation into the boating incident is still underway.