Gagandeep Singh Khalsa fell into the North Saskatchewan River in Banff National Park during a hike in July and he had been presumed drowned. His body was found this week on a small, remote island west of Abraham Lake.

CALGARY - The body of a 23-year-old Sikh-Canadian hiker who was presumed drowned in late July has been recovered by RCMP and Alberta Conservation officers on a small, remote island west of Abraham Lake.

Calgarian Gagandeep Singh Khalsa had been taking photos with friends near a pedestrian bridge over the North Saskatchewan River while hiking Glacier Lake trail in Banff National Park on July 25, when he was swept away by the river. Several days of extensive searches were conducted in July but it wasn’t until Sunday that his body was recovered by officers, according to a media release from Lake Louise RCMP, reported Postmedia.

 “Our thoughts continue to be with the family at this time,” said Lake Louise RCMP.

The body was found deceased by Rocky Mountain House RCMP and Alberta Conservation officers on a remote island west of Abraham Lake, which is several kilometres along the North Saskatchewan River from where Khalsa fell in.

Khalsa moved to Canada from India about four years ago, graduated from Bow Valley College and was working as an office assistant at a Calgary medical office while he was waiting for his permanent residency papers.

Just three months before his disappearance in the river, Khalsa had gotten engaged to his girlfriend in Australia.

The 23-year-old was a community volunteer and was known to many in Calgary’s Sikh community for his selflessness, service and generosity, according to three of Khalsa’s friends who spoke to Postmedia in July, reported Postmedia.