'Rest gently': Family of William Schernhammer says he has died

It appears the search for William Schernhammer may have come to an end.

In a Jan. 22 Facebook post, the missing Alliston man’s mother, Rachelle Schernhammer, wrote that William had been found, and her “prayers for (him) weren’t answered the way that I had hoped.”

“I prayed for help and help came to my door,” she said. “I prayed my son William be found. My prayer was answered. I prayed my son William find peace. He now has peace. I prayed to find my son WIlliam because he was lost — And now my son has been found and is no longer lost. That is a miracle. Love is all around. Rest gently my sweet baby boy.”

Meanwhile, the title of a GoFundMe page initially set up one week ago to support the family during its search effort has been changed to read, “RIP William Schernhammer,” with organizer Jamie Rodriguez noting proceeds will now be used to help cover funeral costs. As of Tuesday morning, the page had collected more than 70 donations totalling $5,965.

“Unfortunately, the outcome did not end as we had all hoped,” Rodriguez said in a statement on the page. “William was found and is now at peace. Deepest condolences to Rachelle and the entire Schernhammer family, to Will’s girlfriend and partner — Ashley, and to anyone who (knew) and loved him and will miss him. Rest in Peace dear William.”

William, 24, was last seen alive on Jan. 12 at about 12:30 a.m.

It is unclear whether online comments from William’s family and friends are linked to the discovery of human remains about a day prior in the 25th Sideroad area of nearby Adjala-Tosorontio Township, but Nottawasaga OPP is staying tight-lipped on the situation.

InnisfilToday reached out to Rachelle Schernhammer and Rodriguez but had not received a response as of the publication of this article.

A post-mortem will be conducted on those remains to confirm the identity and determine a cause of death, though it’s unclear when that will take place.

“We can’t speculate on the identity of the deceased until a post-mortem is completed,” OPP Const. Jackie Beaulieu said. “In relation to the post-mortem, that is up to the Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario and the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service. Therefore, we don’t have a timeline for results.”

The investigation is ongoing and more information will be released as it becomes available, she said.

The Nottawasaga OPP crime unit is continuing the investigation, under the direction of the department’s Criminal Investigation branch, with assistance from OPP Forensic Identification Services, and in collaboration with the chief coroner and forensic pathology.

Anyone with information related to this investigation can contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122. They can also reach out to Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477 or crimestopperssdm.com.