Mother mourns as body of missing 21-year-old Congolese student was found in river in Canada

A body that was found near the marina on Saint-Quentin Island in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada, on Tuesday morning, October 8, has been identified as 21-year-old missing Congolese student, Alexandra Martine Diengo Lumbayi. 

Lumbayi, who was studying at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, was last seen on the island on the afternoon of October 2, 2024.

Local police say her body was found in the St. Maurice River by a kayaker around 10:20 a.m. Tuesday. 

The body was in the water between the property owned by Kruger Wayagamack Inc. and the marina.

The coroner identified Lumbayi Tuesday afternoon, according to Radio-Canada.

Her mother, Rosemine Ndjondo, who lives in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, reported her missing after not hearing from her for a few days. 

She posted a video to TikTok over the weekend sounding the alarm around Lumbayi’s disappearance and pleading for help.

“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 had been leading searches for Lumbayi since Friday and continue to investigate the circumstances around her d3ath.

Students and members of the Congolese, Cameroonian and Senegalese community also joined the search efforts on Sunday and were on the island Tuesday morning. 

Meanwhile, Alexandra’s mother has broken her silence after her the body was recovered. 

“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?”