My name is Abe Thiessen. We buy old homes, fix them up, and sell them to families at affordable prices.

On Tuesday evening, August 12, one of our contractor workers, Misael, drowned in a tragic accident. He was only 33 years old.

That day, Misael had been doing drywall with his crew. After work, they decided to take my pontoon boat out for a little ride on the lake across the road from the house they were working on. The foreman, John, told Misael to put on a life jacket, but Misael said he would just take a quick swim first. He took off his shirt and glasses, jumped in, and swam in bit, did a loop.

John asked if he was okay, and Misael said “Yes,” but only a few seconds later, he called for help. He had gotten some water in and started to panic. Ivan, another worker, jumped in right away to save him. He grabbed Misael’s hand, but Misael pulled so hard that Ivan almost drowned too. Ivan had to let go to save himself and swam back to the boat to try another way, but by then, Misael had gone under.

This was around 7:55 p.m. They rushed to shore, called 911, and emergency crews searched until dark. The next day, they looked again all morning. Around 2 p.m., divers finally found his body. That same day, we were able to contact his sister, who then had to tell his wife and 4 children in Mexico about the tragedy.

Misael came to Canada on April 28, 2024, to work and send money back home. He couldn’t afford to bring his family with him, so he lived here alone, working hard every day. He was one of the best workers we’ve ever had—skilled at drywall, tiling, and anything we needed for our renovations. Almost everything he made went to his family in Mexico.

Now we are trying to send his body back home so his family can say goodbye. The cost to send him to Mexico is about $13,000 CAD plus any cost for funeral etc. Misael’s family doesn’t have the money to pay for this, so we are asking for help.

Any donation, big or small, will help bring Misael home and give his family the closure they need.

Thank you for your kindness, generosity, and prayers. ❤️