Vigil set for man found dead in Lake Ballinger

Published 1:30 am Saturday, October 15, 2016

MOUNTLAKE TERRACE — A vigil is planned for Sunday evening to remember a young man from France whose body was found in Lake Ballinger on Oct. 5.

Sylvio Kasongo, 24, was a nice person who’d become depressed in recent times, said Konane Johnson, who’d befriended the Edmonds man.

The Snohomish County Medical Examiner has been asked to determine his cause of death. There were no obvious signs of trauma, the Mountlake Terrace Police Department reported.

Johnson and of some of Kasongo’s other friends are planning the candlelight vigil for 6 p.m. Sunday near the boat ramp in the 23500 block of Lakeview Drive.

“I’m trying to get it out to the public in case anyone from the community wants to come and show respect or support for him,” Johnson said.

His immediate family lives overseas.

Kasongo recently quit his job at a Rite-Aid pharmacy. He’d planned to move to California where he thought he’d lined up modeling and music work, Johnson said. That fell through, which left him feeling isolated.

“He was a good person,” Johnson said. “He had a good heart. He was friendly.”

Johnson said Kasongo had moved to Washington from France figuring he was pursuing the American dream. He’d run out of money and couldn’t pay his rent, she said.

“He was just kind of stuck,” she said.

Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; stevick@heraldnet.com.