Cops Not Sure What Killed Brandon Crisp
Posted November 5, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Hopes that missing teen Brandon Crisp would be reunited with his worry-sick family were all but dashed on Wednesday when word spread that police had found a body in a wooded area not far from where he was last seen.
Barrie Police believe the body belongs to the 15-year-old. The remains were located on the 4th Line at Oro-Medonte, not far from his home. There’s no immediate word on the cause of his death or how long the deceased might have been there.
Barrie Police are adamant they don’t know what killed the young teen, despite reports that say authorities don’t think foul play was involved. They’re refusing to come to any conclusions until an autopsy shows the cause of death.
But the OPP begs to differ. “Our indication is, at this time, no foul play is suspected,” maintains OPP Cst. George Silvestri. “But of course we have to examine every possibility.”
Cops have yet to confirm the identity but sources indicate it’s Brandon and his father, Steve, has reportedly told police the clothes they described on the corpse match what Brandon was wearing the day he ran away from home.
“At this point we believe it to be Brandon, and we’re still obviously in the early stages of our investigation,” explains Sgt. Dave Goodbrand. “It’s not confirmed because nothing’s confirmed until we have pathology, but we believe it to be Brandon.”
Police set up a command post at the scene where the remains were found in the afternoon, said to be a treed area near a small body of water. Because of the location, the case has landed in the jurisdiction of the OPP and authorities have said little about the find.
The young man disappeared on Thanksgiving Day after getting into an argument with his parents over the excessive use of his Xbox and the game “Call of Duty 4.”
He angrily donned his backpack and rode away on his bicycle. At least two women came forward to report they’d seen the youngster that day, and his abandoned bike was located soon after. But his trail went cold.
That sparked huge searches, lead by police, the family and volunteers. Cops scoured the heavily wooded area with a sense of urgency, desperately looking for the boy.
There were fears he may have been abducted by someone he met online and efforts were made by Microsoft to find the people he was in contact with.
But the grim finding means he apparently didn’t get far. Concern grew as the weeks passed and the weather turned from summer to winter. Last week, the first major snow of the year blanketed the area, making the hunt more difficult.
At one point, cops gave up the search, thinking they’d been through all the necessary areas. But they suddenly began it again last weekend, announcing they may have missed something.
His frantic parents admitted that it wasn’t like their son not to call or get a message to them, but they adamantly believed he was still alive and would come home soon. Reports indicate Brandon’s mother even went out and bought her son some new clothes over the weekend, convinced he’d be back to wear them.
Grief counsellors are on scene and a special assembly was held at St. Joseph’s High School, which Brandon attended with his sisters. Students were told the terrible news, led in prayers and were officially informed by the principal.
Students could be seen outside the school Wednesday openly weeping and walking around stunned, unable to process the stunning news.
“The school is in shock, as you can well imagine,” said the Board’s Diane Legg. “They’re in grief, and certainly they’ve gathered today to say a prayer for the family and for Brandon , and everyone has come together as a community.”
“Awful. It’s awful,” adds Charmaine Nolan, who works with Brandon ‘s mom. “I mean it’s obviously devastating for the Crisp family. It’s very hard on everyone here as we’ve been so intimately involved.”
On Wednesday night a candle light vigil was held in Barrie.
“We want to light the way for Brandon to find his way go God,” said Vicki Dodds.
“There are no words to describe what i’m feeling or what the people i’m with are feeling,” added another attendee. “We are just trying to accept it and trying to become a community stronger together.”
There has understandably been no real word from Brandon’s family, who had been so publicly pleading for any sign of their missing son.
Brandon’s story had been in the public eye for weeks, and was even featured on America’s Most Wanted. The story generated hundreds of tips and worries over video game addiction.
Facebook condolence group grows
Story makes headlines worldwide
