Akwesasne woman sought in U.S. over drowning deaths of migrants in St. Lawrence River

The United States is seeking the extradition of a woman from Akwesasne Mohawk Territory who is alleged to have been a key player in a human smuggling operation tied to the drownings of eight migrants last year.

Stephanie Square, 51, was indicted on nine charges by a grand jury in the Northern District of New York in June in connection with the deaths of a Romanian family of four who were among eight migrants trying to cross the St. Lawrence River.

The Romanian family and four people from India died in late March 2023 while trying to enter illegally into the United States from Canada through Akwesasne Mohawk Territory, which straddles Quebec, Ontario and New York state.

The body of a ninth person — an Akwesasne man allegedly piloting the boat carrying the eight migrants — was found in July 2023.

Extradition documents filed in Quebec Superior Court say Square exchanged text messages with alleged co-conspirators in which concerns were raised about the weather conditions the night of the fatal crossing.

Court documents show that the 51-year-old Square was arraigned in Quebec Superior Court on Aug. 22, and is detained in the province.

Requests for comment to the RCMP and the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service were not immediately returned.