A candlelight vigil will be held on Friday for a 15-year-old Toronto boy who drowned on a class trip to Algonquin Park earlier this month.
Police previously confirmed that on the evening of July 4, during a high school field trip to the national park, C.W. Jeffreys Collegiate Institute student Jeremiah Perry had gone swimming with some classmates in Big Trout Lake when he went under the water and did not resurface.
Emergency crews conducted a preliminary search that night but were unable to locate him. The search resumed the following morning and Perry’s body was found in the lake on the afternoon of July 5.
Friday’s vigil will be held at Perry’s school, located near Finch Avenue and Keele Street, from 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.
A visitation will also be held for the teen on Saturday from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Bernardo Funeral Home, located at 2950 Dufferin Street.
As well, a GoFundMe page has been set up to honour Perry's life.
Meanwhile, Perry’s death is currently under investigation by Ontario Provincial Police and the coroner.
Perry’s brother Marrion, who was also on the field trip, previously told CTV News Toronto that he and his brother could not swim. While they were required to pass a TDSB swim test in order to go on the trip, Marrion said they were wearing life jackets during the test.
Earlier this month, TDSB director John Malloy addressed the incident in a written statement.
“As the Office of the Chief Coroner, together with Ontario Provincial Police, is now investigating the circumstances surrounding Jeremiah’s death and has formally requested information surrounding the trip to Algonquin Park, including swim test information for Jeremiah, we will not be commenting further on these specific circumstances at this time,” the statement read.
Malloy said the teen’s parents “deserve to know what happened” and the school board will be “cooperating fully with any investigation into this matter.”
