What we know about the missing Akwesasne man connected to 8 deaths on the St. Lawrence River
Casey Oakes, 30, sought treatment following marijuana-smuggling conviction
An Akwesasne man who is now the focus of a multi-agency search — in connection with the recovery of eight bodies from the St. Lawrence River — has a years-long history of drug addiction and often spoke about seeking help, CBC News has learned.
Casey Oakes, 30, is the father of two girls, the youngest of whom is about two months old, according to his cousin Fallan Jacobs. He is also the great-grandson of Levi Oakes, a famed "code talker" with the U.S. army during the Second World War, who died in 2019.
Jacobs, 40, says she knew Oakes was struggling with addictions and always said he wanted to get treatment.
"I have been going through a lot of reflection of all our past conversations and all our past conversations had to do with healing, or getting better, or being a healthier self," said Jacobs.
"We needed him to get better, we need our warriors."
Oakes was last seen on Wednesday, around 9:30 p.m. ET, launching into the St. Lawrence from the eastern part of Cornwall Island — near the Ontario-Quebec border — in a light blue boat. His family reported him missing on Thursday, the same day the bodies of six people, including a two-year-old child, were found in the water. Two other bodies were recovered on Friday. Police believe the victims were attempting to cross into the U.S.
Police said on Tuesday they now believe Oakes is linked to the deaths.
A boat matching the description of Oakes's was found capsized in a marshy area where searchers also pulled bodies from the water, and articles of clothing linked to Oakes were also discovered during the searches, a police statement said.
The Kanien'kehá:ka (Mohawk) territory of Akwesasne straddles the Ontario, Quebec and New York state borders. The St. Lawrence River runs through the community, creating channels around islands.
Confronted over drug dealing
Oakes struggled with addictions and depression, while also trying to reach out for help, according to U.S. court records. None of the records reviewed by CBC News discuss the root causes behind the addictions.
The records say Oakes has two siblings and was raised by both his parents who remained in his life even after they divorced.
Jacobs said Oakes's mother worked as a social worker in Cornwall, Ont., and "helped a lot of people." His father was "hands-on in healing" and conducted sweat lodges, she said.
Jacobs says Oakes also played lacrosse when he was young, but was drawn into addictions through another family involved in generational drug dealing.
In October 2020, Jacobs, who has four children, and other mothers in Akwesasne's St. Regis Village, went to confront Oakes, delivering a letter demanding he stop dealing drugs.
"We wanted to have a healthy community and the feeling that your kids could play outside and be safe," said Jacobs.
Jacobs said Oakes denied that he was selling drugs.
"And I said, 'Don't lie to me,'" she said.
Oakes was sentenced on March 9, 2021, to nine months in U.S. federal prison for multiple, addictions-related breaches of supervised release conditions related to a 2017 marijuana-smuggling conviction.
"Mr. Oakes recognizes that at least part of this conduct relates to his continued struggles with addiction," said a letter to the court from Oakes's public defender dated the previous day.
Oakes signalled to the justice system he needed help dealing with his addictions shortly after his Oct. 6, 2017, pretrial release on conditions, after he was indicted for allegedly running marijuana from Akwesasne to Syracuse, N.Y.
"Oakes acknowledged that he has struggled with substance abuse addiction and, if given the opportunity, said that he preferred to enter in-patient rehabilitation," read a Dec. 1, 2017, arrest warrant issued for Oakes over the breach of his release conditions.
He was finally admitted into the St. Lawrence Addiction Treatment Centre in Ogdensburg, N.Y., on Nov. 15, 2017, for a 21- to 28-day program before being transferred to the Partridge House in-patient program in Akwesasne for a longer stay.
However, against the advice of the centre, he left on Dec. 1, and was arrested for breaching his pre-trial conditions.
Pleaded guilty to smuggling marijuana
Oakes pleaded guilty on Jan. 26, 2018, to smuggling more than 100 kilograms of marijuana over 10 months from Canada, across the St. Lawrence River into Akwesasne, and then running loads to Syracuse.
He was sentenced to 18 months in prison on July 13, 2018.
"Casey Oakes knows what he did was wrong, and is duly and thoroughly remorseful and profoundly contrite. He has offered no excuses as to why he was involved in this matter," said a sentencing memorandum from his public defender.
"Prior to the time of the sentencing hearing, Mr. Oakes has truthfully provided to the government all information and evidence the defendant has concerning the offense."
He was given a supervised release on April 2, 2019, and arrested again on Aug. 11 that year for substance abuse-related breaches of conditions.
Akwesasne police say they've recorded 48 incidents involving about 80 people trying to cross the Canada-U.S. border irregularly through the territory since January. The majority of individuals attempting crossings are Indian or Romanian nationals, according to police.
Akwesasne is part of an area identified as the "Swanton Sector" by U.S. border authorities. The sector runs from the New Hampshire-Maine state line to the western margin of St. Lawrence County in New York state. This area records the most U.S.-bound irregular traffic of any spot along the Canada-U.S. border.
Most foreign nationals attempting irregular crossings from Canada into the U.S. go overland, through bush and farmlands along a region that runs just east of Akwesasne for about 100 kilometres to Lake Champlain.
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