WOLFVILLE, N.S. — An online fundraising page has identified the victim of last week's flash floods in western Nova Scotia as 13-year-old Eli Young.
A memorial site has been set up at the Wolfville, N.S., park where Eli died, according to a report by the CBC.
Sarah Furey, a close friend of Eli's family who is operating the GoFundMe page, said the people who were close to him are in shock at his sudden death.
"It's very difficult to understand how someone so young could be taken from us so suddenly," Furey wrote in an email to The Canadian Press.
"What we have, and always will have, is Eli's spirit, a spirit that will be fixed in our memories forever."
Eli was swept into a ditch on Thursday in a Wolfville park during flash flooding that caused extensive damage across western Nova Scotia.
Furey said that two weeks before his death, Eli finished Grade 7 at Wolfville School, where he played point guard on the boys basketball team. She said he dominated on the basketball court, presenting as a threat to anyone who challenged his team or teammates.
Eli also loved to collect sneakers, keeping them in storage cases his parents bought for him. She said Eli was fiercely loyal and protective of his three sisters and younger brother, and considered his mom, Amanda Young, to be the smartest person he knew. Eli also looked up to his dad, Rodney Samson, with great pride and admiration.
The online fundraiser has so far raised more than $43,000.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 16, 2024.
The Canadian Press
