BRANDON CRISP Tribute

BRANDON DID NOT DIE IN VAIN. HE'S IN A BETTER PLACE NOW. GOD BLESS HIS FAMILY AND GOD WILL FIND THEM PEACE.......Kemi (Creator of this site.) Goodbye.....Good night......

Toronto Sun 11/14/08--Emotional Funeral for Brandon Crisp.
CityNews--I'll see you in heaven.
CBC.ca--Brandon Crisp up in VIP section in heaven.
CTV.ca--Grieving family say goodbye to Brandon.

ROBYN DOOLITTLE
Staff Reporter TORONTO STAR
November 14th 2008
Hundreds of mourners gathered at a Barrie church this morning to say a final goodbye to Brandon Crisp.

His grieving parents, arms linked and heads bowed, walked solemnly behind his casket as they entered the church at 10 a.m. His sisters’ sobs were audible throughout the church.

Inside, a row was reserved for the Barrie police force, where detectives sat with heads bowed.

Each of the church’s 800 seats was filled and dozens of mourners lined the red brick walls, clutching yellow roses and wiping swollen eyes.

More than 300 more people gathered in an overflow room, spilling into the hallway and outside, where the service was broadcast on loudspeakers.

Brandon, 15, left his Barrie home on Oct. 13 after quarrelling with his parents over his video game use.

A week later, his yellow mountain bike was found on the Oro Rail Trail in Shanty Bay. Deer hunters discovered his body on Nov. 5.

An autopsy determined the cause of death was a trauma to the chest, likely from falling from a tree.

During this morning’s service, family friend Gordon Sweetzer rose to read letters from Brandon’s family.

"Brandon was more than just a brother to me. He was my twin, my other half,” wrote his twin sister, Samantha, “and half of me will always be missing without him."

In her letter, Brandon’s mother, Angelika, described her children as “the Three Musketeers.”

“A huge hole has been left in our hearts with your passing, son,” she wrote. “You have touched more people in your 15 years than most touch in an entire lifetime.

“I am so proud and honoured to be your mom.”

The service ended around 11:15 a.m. As the mourners left the church, they lined the road while Brandon’s family got into a limousine behind the hearse and joined a procession to St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery on Sunnidale Rd. for his burial.

- With files from the Barrie Advance

Funeral arrangements have been announced
for Brandon Crisp, the 15-year-old Barrie teen found dead
in a wooded area north of the city. The teen had been reported missing Oct. 13. Visitation will take place Thursday, Nov. 13, at Steckley-Gooderham's Worsley Street Chapel from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m.
Brandon's funeral service will take place Friday, Nov. 14, at St. Mary's Church, 65 Amelia St., in Barrie, starting at 10 a.m.
REST IN PEACE BRANDON!

THE CANADIAN PRESS

Autopsy results on the body of a Barrie, Ont. teen found three weeks after he ran away from home reveal he died of injuries to chest.

A post-mortem examination on Brandon Crisp, conducted at the Chief Coroners Office in Toronto, state the injuries are consistent with falling from a tree.

Using dental records, coroners confirmed the body found Wednesday in a wooded area by hunters was that of the 15-year-old.

Police released the information today after giving the findings to his family last night.

They have also ruled out foul play.

Brandon's parents say he fled home following a dispute with them over his obsessive Xbox video gaming habits.

Robyn Doolittle
Staff Reporter TORONTO STAR

It was sunny and a balmy 26 degrees outside when Brandon Crisp fled his east-end Barrie home, wearing a T-shirt and jeans, around 3 p.m. Thanksgiving Monday.

But over the next three days the mercury plunged below zero, while throughout the week spotty showers passed through the region. The 15-year-old had also grabbed his jacket, a backpack, some deodorant and a toothbrush, but he had no cellphone or cash by all accounts, and no food or water.

Deer hunters discovered Crisp's body Wednesday morning in a wooded area east of Barrie, less than half a kilometre from an old farmhouse. An autopsy was conducted Friday, but a cause of death has not yet been determined. OPP officers don't suspect foul play. And for now, investigators are quietly speculating Crisp may have fallen victim to the elements, dying of hypothermia.

The teen was an avid fan of outdoor survival shows, said Sgt. Dave Goodbrand of the Barrie police. After Crisp disappeared, one theory was that he may have been camping out in the Oro-Medonte woods. By the end of the week, police were scouring the terrain by helicopter equipped with heat sensors, but by that point it might have been too late.

The problem with hypothermia, said Dr. Gordon Giesbrecht, a thermophysiologist based in Saskatoon, is that it can come on slowly.

"By the time you may realize you need help, it's too late," he said over the phone. "Other than the fact that you start to shiver, you feel cold, (maybe) you might experience pain and eventually numbness . . . there's no other sign that you're getting hypothermic."And once your core temperature starts to drop, you begin to lose brain function.

"You're becoming less and less aware of what's going on," said Giesbrecht.

One of the hunters who found Crisp told the Star the teen was not wearing his jacket. It was lying beside him.

This, said Giesbrecht, can be typical of hypothermic victims. In the end stages, before falling unconscious, some victims who have survived reported feeling a strong sense of warmth, he said. The brain isn't functioning properly, and people are known to remove clothing.

The body temperature can begin to drop in temperatures as warm as 10 degrees.

"Wetness just accentuates the problem of heat loss," Giesbrecht said. "So if it's raining and its 10 to 15 degrees and you're stuck outside, that is a significant heat stress."

Toronto Sun--Barrie in Shock!
Toronto Sun--Mom: "I've given up on God." Microsoft offered reward.
Canadian Press via Toronto Sun--Foul play not ruled out.
CTV.Ca--Autopsy could explain what happened to Brandon Crisp
Globe and Mail--This is not the ending we wanted!
CBC.ca--Vigil held for missing teen as search continues.

Robyn Doolittle
Staff reporter, TORONTO STAR 11/6/08

BARRIE–Students at St. Joseph's High School say they are shocked and overwhelmed with grief with the news their missing classmate was found dead yesterday.

"I've known Brandon since Grade 4. I've grown up with him," said Sergio, the Grade 10 representative on the student council. "It's a shocking mood. Really, everyone expected that Brandon would come back."

Taryn, the other Grade 10 rep said students are devastated.

"We're all heartbroken," she said.

School administrators held a morning mass in honour of Brandon Crisp and a journal was being passed among students who wanted to share memories.

The flag at St. Joseph's High School is flying at half-mast and white ribbons are attached to the building's doors.

A body believed to be that of the 15-year-old was found by deer hunters in a wooded area outside Barrie around 10:20 a.m. yesterday. The teen ran away from home 3 weeks ago after a fight with his parents about his Xbox.

Principal Matt McCann said yesterday was one of the toughest of his career.

"I feel very numb," he said. "We knew when the police came to get the girls (Crisp's sisters who are students at the school) in the morning that that wasn't a good sign."

At about 12:30 p.m. officers contacted the school and confirmed McCann's worst fears.

"We took about 20 minutes to figure out what we were going to say and then called everyone together," he said.

About half of the school's 1,200 students came to class, although only about 300 hung around until lunch. Grief counsellors are also on site.

Sgt. Dave Goodbrand said Barrie police and the OPP are reviewing maps to see if the area Crisp was found had been searched.

Goodbrand says the police search focused along a rail trail where the last confirmed sighting was made.

"We have to look at our mapping software now and look at what we covered and see where our boundaries were."

As well, said Goodbrand, "we have to talk to volunteer search parties and see where they covered."

Yesterday OPP said based on preliminary evidence foul play is not suspected, but they aren't ruling anything out.

An autopsy is scheduled for Friday at 10 a.m.

Goodbrand says the post-mortem will "shed light on a lot of information" and the investigation will proceed from there.

With files from The Canadian Press