TOLEDO, Ohio — Friends and family of Jesse Babiuch, the man whose body was found in the Maumee River following a canoe capsizing, remembered the father of two during a vigil on Friday.
"It's been a nightmare for our whole family, our kids, his friends," Babiuch's sister Emily White said.
White says her brother was the core of their family and that he would do anything for them.
"He was so caring," White said. "He would've given the shirt off his back. He had the brightest smile."
On Sunday, Babiuch and his friends were canoeing in the Maumee River near downtown Toledo when the boat capsized. Babiuch's friends swam to shore, but he disappeared.
Rescue and recovery crews eventually discovered Babiuch's body in the river on Wednesday.
"It's been stressful, it's been hard, devastating," Babiuch's close friend Trinity Morris said. "I can't even put it into words really. It's been unreal."
Babiuch was 21 years old and a father of two girls, who are both under three years old. Friday's vigil gave the community a chance to remember the father, the brother, the son, and the man Jesse Babiuch was.
"It means a lot because a lot of the time, Jesse felt like he was alone," Morris said. "This shows him that he wasn't alone. We were here the whole time."
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