Body of 'Loving' Father, 21, Found Days After He Disappeared When Canoe Capsized on Ohio River

Divers located the victim's body at the bottom of the river on Wednesday, according to the Toledo Fire and Rescue Department

Jesse Babiuch/Facebook Jesse Babiuch
Jesse Babiuch/Facebook Jesse Babiuch

Crews in Ohio have located the body of a young man after his canoe capsized over the weekend.

Jesse Babiuch, 21, disappeared on Sunday after the canoe he was in sank in the Maumee River, according to ABC affiliate WTVG and CBS affiliate WTOL.

The young man was with two friends when the boat capsized around 3:30 p.m. local time, according to a GoFundMe for his funeral expenses started by Brandi Babiuch, Jesse's cousin.

Brandi said Jesse's friends made it back to shore, but soon realized that the father of two had not.

Related:Mom of 7-Year-Old Boy Who Disappeared While Fishing with Family Speaks Out: 'I Want to Hold Him'

Divers located a body at the bottom of the river on Wednesday, according to the Toledo Fire and Rescue Department.

The Lucas County Coroner's Office has since determined that the remains belong to Jesse, per WTVG's report. (The coroner's office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.)

Brandi described her late cousin as "a wild, loving soul" who "loved his family very dearly" on the GoFundMe page. He leaves behind two daughters, 6 months and 2, according to WTOL.

Jesse was "the light to everyone's life, and had a smile that would make anyone smile," Brandi wrote on GoFundMe. "He always put everyone before himself!"

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Jesse's family last had contact with the young man around 3 p.m. on Sunday, about a half hour before he disappeared, according to WTOL.

Toledo Fire and Rescue said the boat capsized near the DiSalle Bridge.

Close friend Trinity Morris told WTVG that one of Jesse's friends said the trio needed to take their clothes off so they "wouldn't weigh them down."

"But they said when they got to shore, they couldn't find him and he wasn't there," she told the outlet. "He just disappeared."

Related:Search for Missing Fisherman Called Off After Human Remains Found Inside Crocodiles: 'Tragic Ending'

On Wednesday, two TFRD watercraft used sonar technology to lock down on "a credible target" in the water, which was about 15-feet deep, according to Toledo Fire and Rescue. The body was found a short time later.

"Jesse didn't deserve this," Morris said before his body was found. "He would have taken the shirt off his back for anybody. He would have jumped in that water to save anybody."

Babiuch's sister, Emily White, previously told WTOL that her brother was good at swimming. She also said he enjoyed boating and fishing, which Brandi confirmed on GoFundMe.

"Where do I even start on the love he had for fishing!" Brandi wrote. "Rain snow sleet or shine Jesse would go down to the river to fish!"

An investigation into Sunday's boating incident is ongoing, according to Toledo Fire and Rescue.

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