Runaway Xbox Kid - Hunters make tragic discovery in Brandon Crisp disappearance

Blah. I hate this story. So sad.




ORO-MEDONTE, ONT. -- After an exhaustive search that lasted more than three weeks, Ontario Provincial Police on Wednesday recovered a body they believe to be that of missing teenager Brandon Crisp in a wooded area near Barrie.

Barrie Police Sergeant Dave Goodbrand delivered the news to a crush of reporters on a narrow road not far from the cornfield where hunters reportedly came across the body.

“We are definitely moved by this. This is obviously a very tragic day,” Sgt. Goodbrand said.

On Thanksgiving Day, Brandon, 15, had packed a backpack with some clothing and a toothbrush and angrily rode his bicycle away from the family home in Barrie, about 10 kilometres south of here, after his parents took away his X-Box.

A few days after his departure, police found his bicycle north of the city. The search galvanized Barrie, a fast-growing city of about 100,000 that is 100 kilometres north of Toronto. Hundreds of volunteers joined the search and held vigils for the missing teen.

On Wednesday, hunters found a body in a spot police confirmed they had previously combed during a 10-day search.

“Everyone adopted Brandon as one of their own. The investigators are as upset as anybody,” said Constable George Silvestri of the Ontario Provincial Police, noting foul play was not suspected in the boy’s death.

“There is no fear in the community,” he added. “Oro-Medonte is a safe community.”

The search drew worldwide attention because many parents identified with the Crisps’ frustration at seeing Brandon’s obsession with X-Box 360.

“This kid was on this before school, in the evening, all night long,” recalled Rick Watson, owner of a Barrie video store, Colossal Video, that Brandon frequented. “I can sympathize.” He described Brandon as a small, shy boy.

“I remember the last time he came in with his mother and his twin sister,” recalled Heide Demaria, manager of the video store. “He wanted a game. She [his mother] said
no. She stood her ground.”

Both the owner and the manager of Colossal Video said they worry that their own teenage sons spend too much time playing such games, whose participants wear headphones and talk to other players, who could be in other parts of the world.

Ms. Demaria said her own son became so hooked on the games he barely slept, could not concentrate, and has since dropped out of high school.

On the shop’s shelf beckoned games such as Saints Row II, which promises: “Demand your respect -- build your empire using an arsenal of rocket launchers, stun guns and satchel chargers.”

Despite the camaraderie Brandon found among participants with whom he collected on the Web, it appears the teen had no one to turn to when he pedalled away from his winding street of two-storey brick homes and spindly trees in a new subdivision of Barrie.

Tragically, he never found out about the outpouring of sympathy that flooded the town after his disappearance.

“I just felt really bad for Sam [Samantha, Brandon’s twin sister],” Megan Hobbs, 15, said yesterday. Megan attends Barrie North high school, near Brandon’s St. Joseph’s High School. “I have a twin, so I couldn’t even imagine what she’s going through. I was just really shocked. I really had hopes that he would be found alive.”

Teachers at Brandon’s Catholic high school held a prayer for him on Wednesday and instructed students not to talk to the media.

Two Barrie police officers stood vigil on Wednesday outside the Crisps’ house, keeping at bay a clump of photographers and television reporters. Police said they have sent Brandon’s body to Forensic Investigation Services to determine the cause of death.

[link to network.nationalpost.com]