Lost swimmer remembered as artist, jokester

LORAIN — A swimmer drowned at Lakeview Park Tuesday morning. Lorain police were called to Lakeview Park beach around 7:45 a.m. Tuesday for a report of a swimmer missing in Lake Erie. Lorain police department's underwater recovery team, Lorain firefighters and the U.S. Coast Guard located the swimmer's body about 12-to-15 feet under the water just west of the center break wall. Police identified the deceased as Ayesha Kadi, 20, of Lorain, who had been reportedly jumping off a break wall at Lakeview Beach and into the water. Kadi was in the process of transitioning from female to male and preferred to go by the name Jordan, or the nickname "Juice" — coined for their love of apple juice — friends said on Tuesday during a vigil at the beach that evening. Mary Smink Worthy, of Lorain, organized the candlelight vigil and walk to the waterfront in Kadi's honor Tuesday evening. Smink Worthy said Kadi had moved to Lorain about a year-and-a-half ago, but spent time in Columbus and Detroit and graduated from high school in Detroit. He had been homeless off and on, Smink Worthy said, but had become fast friends with a small group of people in the International City since moving there. Smink Worthy stood at the top of the stairs leading down to the waterfront on Tuesday with Kadi's sister, Zahra, 27, of Lorain, at her side. The pair remembered Kadi as a jokester and artist who had plans to move to New York City to start a streetwear brand. It remained a mystery what Kadi was doing out in the water that morning, as he could not swim, Smink Worthy said. Smink Worthy said when Kadi went under, paddle boarders in the area tried to help but were unable to pull him from the water. He was swimming outside the safe zone, Smink Worthy said, and suspected her friend thought it was shallow enough to walk along the break wall. She cautioned other swimmers and reminded those enjoying Lake Erie this summer to wear life jackets to prevent another tragedy. "We can't blame anyone but Mother Nature," Smink Worthy said. "But we lost someone we care about and don't want that to happen to anyone else." Tomorrow will feel different, Smink Worthy said, knowing Kadi was gone not on an adventure, but for good. "Life goes on, memories are what you have to keep," Smink Worthy said, quoting what Kadi told her when her father died. "That's how (he) was." The Lorain County Coroner's Office was called to Lakeview Beach Tuesday morning. At this time, Kadi's death is the result of a suspected accidental drowning. The Lorain county Coroner's Office will investigate further. Anyone with additional information is asked to call Lorain police at (440) 204-2105. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com