Grieving family says goodbye to Brandon

The four remaining members of the Crisp family attended the funeral for their son and brother Brandon, sobs breaking the silence as they filed into church to say their final goodbyes.

"Brandon was more than just a brother to me. He was my twin. My other half, and half of me will always be missing," said Samantha Crisp, Brandon's sister, in a statement read out in St. Mary's Church by a family friend on Friday.

"Make no mistake, Brandon: You're a part of our family. A family of five forever. I love you and miss you more than words could ever express," said a statement from older sister Natasha.

Father Steve added: "Brandon, our beautiful, beautiful boy. Thank you for making us laugh. Thank you for making us cry. Thank you for making us proud. Brandon, we can't thank you enough for being our son."

Mother Angelika said: "A huge hole has been left in our hearts with your passing, son. You have always been a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day, and always took every opportunity to put a smile on my face."

More than 1,700 people attended the service, including some who didn't know the family personally but were touched by the story. Many had to listen from an overflow area. Many carried or wore something yellow -- a symbol of hope and Brandon's favourite colour.

The public funeral service (the burial will be for family only) is the final act in a tragedy that began on Thanksgiving.

Brandon stormed out of his family's home and took off on his bike. The 15-year-old was angry because his parents had cut him off from playing on his Xbox gaming console, which they feared had become obsessive.

They would never see him again.

Brandon's parents reported him missing. Police found his abandoned bicycle a few kilometres away.

A woman reported seeing him walking eastward on a trail.

But search efforts went nowhere. The police used officers with dogs on the ground, an OPP helicopter with heat-sensing technology searched from the sky, and a police boat patrolled the waters of nearby Lake Simcoe's Kempenfelt Bay.

Volunteers helped expand the search effort.

Ultimately, it was a group of local deer hunters who found Brandon's body on Nov. 5 in a wooded area a few hundred metres from where the formal search effort had ended.

An autopsy found he had died of chest injuries likely sustained as a result of falling from a tree.

"I hope he didn't suffer too long," Steve told reporters on Thursday.

The autopsy concluded there was no foul play involved.

Early on, the family had wondered if Brandon had fallen into the clutches of some predator he met while playing "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare" online.

To try and achieve some good out of the tragedy, the family is working to establish a foundation to help underprivileged children participate in sports.

Brandon had played hockey, but Steve said his son was let go because of his size.

"I don't think any child should ever have to go through that ever. I think every child should be able to play whenever they want to play and wherever they want to play," Crisp said.

With a report from CTV Toronto's Jim Junkin

Comments are now closed for this story

beeman
said

As a parent, you sometimes wonder whether you are being too hard or too soft on your kids. Every parent has, at the back of their minds, incidents like this to remind them of how difficult it is to be a parent and to provide the best guidance possible for their children.
Steve, Angelica, I hope you find a way to work through this tragedy and move on with your lives. You have other children depending on you. I hope, from the bottom of my heart, that you find peace in knowing that every caring parent in the country is empathizing with you today.

parent of a teen
said

Rest easy little buddy....
For family and friends... be at peace, it's ok... be glad that you knew him.

Rob P
said

RIP Brandon, and my condolences to his family and friends.

I would like to say about this incident is I wish the Media would stop spinning such a negative steriotype of gamers. As soon a video game is involved the media blows it out of proportion making gaming seem like such a anti-social (think columbine) and negative activity.

The term "XBox" has been thrown arround far too many times with this poor teenager. In reality if it the argument that pushed brandon to leave his parents home that day was about his grades being low, or maybe about him smoking or hanging with the wrong crowd we wouldnt hear over and over again. They would just refere to it as a kid who had an argument with his parents who ran away.

Im not denying that people can become addicted to video games, because I have seen it first hand with friends who played 50+ hours of world of War Craft a week. I just want to make it clear that there was probably more to the running away than the taking away of a video game system. We dont know the family history, and Brandon could have been angry over multiple issues (hey he is a teen, many of us are angry at that age, I know I was).

Mike
said

My thoughts are with the family. What a tragedy.God bless you all.

Lauren Alberta
said

Like many other reading this I'm sure, I'm sitting here trying to hold back the tears. My most heart-felt condolences to the family. Let us all never take our kids for granted, you never know...

Blitzen
said

My heart absolutely aches for this family. Nothing,nothing,nothing can be worse than losing a child. We just aren't meant to outlive our kids.

beeman
said

NS recovered video game addict
said

RIP Brandon, forever missed.
to young to die the way he did.

let this be a lesson to everyone, Video game addidtion can equal this.

parent of a teen
said

Rest easy little buddy....
For family and friends... be at peace, it's ok... be glad that you knew him.

Rob P
said

Mike
said

My thoughts are with the family. What a tragedy.God bless you all.

Lauren Alberta
said

Like many other reading this I'm sure, I'm sitting here trying to hold back the tears. My most heart-felt condolences to the family. Let us all never take our kids for granted, you never know...

Blitzen
said

My heart absolutely aches for this family. Nothing,nothing,nothing can be worse than losing a child. We just aren't meant to outlive our kids.

madie-age15
said

His parents accused Xbox Live for the reason he left, believing that he’d been talking to people online and was out to meet them. By making these accusations, Xbox now looks bad to many parents as no one wants this to happen to their child. It’s understandable that no parents wishes for their child to die, but blaming a corporation that has brought joy to many, is completely wrong. Brandon Crisp had the choice to leave, and although it may be bringing pain and sorrow to those that are close with this story, people are now feeling as though Xbox is the main suspect.

I do not write this as a hater or someone that doesn’t care that this child has now passed. Nor do I write this because I am a big fan of Xbox. I write this because people are now calling this child a “hero” for leaving his house and running away when he got in one little argument with his parents. In my opinion, if running away and not dealing with the problem is okay and makes you a hero, more and more children are likely to leave their parents to get what they want. In conclusion, a hero is someone who tries to help someone, and is an honest, admirable person, and if running away is “admirable,” then I hope I am never considered it.

becky in Calgary
said

To the parents - I too lost a son and it's something noone can imagine until it happens.Life goes on not the same but it does.
We all have been overly strict and we were lucky nothing happened so do not
blame yourselves for tough love because it was what you had to do.
Lots of prayers

Liz
said

It is so hard to parent these days and I think most of us have had arguments with our teens. These poor parents had to share their worst nightmare with the media and the public. Now they need privacy to heal as a family.

Ultimately Brandon died due to injuries sustained from a fall, not x-box, not his parents, not his anger and leaving. Such a horrible and yet accidental tragedy. To the family I extend our deepest condolences. Thank you for your caring gift of a charity for sports for children. Such a nice way to remember Brandon.

Heather
said

My condolences to the family.

FYI, this isn't meant to imply blame in any way; accidents do happen.

But I couldn't help thinking -
Societally, we need to teach kids some wilderness survival skills. You never know when they'll need them. Didn't you hear the stories as a kid about native teens being sent out with "nothing but a new pair of mocassins and a knife for a year"? I know as a know-it-all, mouthy, lippy, disrespectful teen I was threatened with it a few times!! I still don't know if those stories were even true, but kids today don't even know how to light a fire! It's true they may spend the rest of their lives in cushy comfort using a computer for the rest of their lives, but there are rough times in most people's lives, and you never know when rough can turn extreme.

Teach them to light a fire - safely - so that when it's needed, they can (and when it's not needed and they're lighting fires anyway, they do it safely even when you're not watching!) Let them climb when they're little so they learn the body mechanics of how to fall properly. Somewhere along the line we as a society stopped letting kids get dirty and take little risks when they're little and bigger risks when they're bigger, so that they learn from their failures, bumps, bruises etc. It's a rough world, *it's not getting any nicer*, and we must let kids toughen up a little more than we do now before they leave our door.

Even as an adult, I'm taking some of this advice for myself...when kids fall down, they seem to "bounce" back. Adults, I found, don't bounce particularly well!

Jen
said

That poor family. When I read what his sister Natasha said:"A family of five forever", the tears welled up in my eyes. He will never be forgotten by his family. What can you say?

perogyprince
said

God Bless. When you lose your parents, you're an orphan, when you lose your spouse, you're a widow(er), when you lose a child, there are no words.

RIP young boy
said

Strange story for such an issue!!! RIP young boy, these games are so mind control for the young lad. That's all they wanna do thse days. So sad instead on sports and outside activities.

Rick
said

My thoughts and prayers go out to Brandon’s family and friends.
As tragic as this is, I still ask myself if it could have been avoided. Could the obsession with video games been identified and some action taken before it got this far? Is mentality of our society where you are not allowed to spank your child as an act of discipline producing parents who are too lenient? As a result are children growing up without the values, logic, and common sense of the parents? Parents … take a moment to think about it.

Leonella Panico
said

The death of a child, no matter how they die, will never get better in time.
My heart goes out for Angelika, Steve,
Samantha and Natasha life will go on and he will never be forgotten.

Brandon Crisp please rest in peace.

Anne Ottawa
said

To Brandon's family. You have my utmost sympathy at this tragic outcome. I never knew Brandon but I hoped and prayed for his safe return, as did many other people across Canada. Everything happens for a reason, and setting up that foundation is a very positive step in making a lasting remembrance to Brandon and giving his death some meaning. Every parent of a teen knows what you had to deal with, and gives you complete their complete sympathy. Further, you have highlighted in the media the addiction of these video games, which are pernicious. That is a good thing in itself to have done that, to hopefully help other parents who may think it is just a harmless pursuit. I am sure Brandon is up in Heaven watching over you. Watch for the signs! God bless all of you. I will pray for you all to find peace when I go to mass this weekend. Blessings.

karen in wlake
said

i, like many others, checked the news several times a day hoping for a happy ending to brandon's disappearance. i am so sorry for the loss of this boy and hope the family finds the ability to move on and heal. as relieved as we all probably were that brandon never fell into the hands of a predator, it is such a tragic end to a young life. i wish the family all the luck and support with their new charity and honor their ability to see past the last few weeks and move ahead.

Karen in Alberta
said

No parent has all the answers and one can only do what they feel is best for their children. I'm sorry that in this case a parental decision ended in such unforeseen tragedy. My thoughts are with Brandon's parents and family.

suraji
said

Rest in Peace Brandon;

As your family will know that you are in a good place looking out for them as an guardian angel! Little Prince of Earth!

Rod and Bonnie Nixon,,Saskatchewan.
said

our deepest sympathy to Brandons family and friends.we are so sad about this awful tragedy and know that Brandon is in heaven watching over all the kids out there who need his help to struggle with being under privilaged in sport and our hearts go out to Brandons parents who will unfortunately have to live with this loss forever.i often asked myself if i could do things differently ,would i? and the answer is always yes. God Bless everyone who had the pleasure of ever knowing Brandon im sure your a better person for it..

Manjit S. Dhaliwal
said

My deepest condolence to the family.
We can all learn from this unfortunate incident. I suggest we all share this news with our children and discuss so that we are on the same page. Children need to understand that parent always have the good of the children as their main objective. We can do this if we talk to them as adults and treat them as adults. We can never underestimate the brain capacity of the human child. God bless all of us. We all have problems within our families because we come from all parts of the world with various difference but we are all human from the same lord. God Bless Canada.
Manjit Dhaliwal, Surrey, B.C.

Muhammad Abid
said

From a Father of a teen age boy

When I heard about the tragic new of Brandon passed away , I felt a feeling like my own son, he also is of same age ,when I see Brandon smiling face I feel very very sad, no words.

Liana
said

To the Crisp Family...my deepest, deepest condolences. I, like thousands of others would check several times daily for some update...it was such a shock to hear Brandon was gone...I have a 16 year old son and can certainly understand the difficulty of raising a teenage boy and could not imagine your loss.
God be with you during this hard time.

Loretta McCullock
said

Condolences from Montreal

If only we could protect our children from every harm. That's just as impossible as the expectation that our children will sit and hold our hand when we are old and decrepit, waiting for us to pass.

Did Brandon expect things to turn out the way they did? I'm sure he did not. He had an accident.

May you re-find peace and strength and joy in life.

Nancy, Kitchener
said

Raising children in today's society isn't the same as it was even 20yrs ago.

Technology is the way of the future, and our children are part of it. There is nothing we can do to stop it.

If I had been "out of line" when growing up, I'd have been spanked, or sent to my room. Today, we're told that it's better to try and discuss things with our children, and that's how I'm trying to raise mine .. but it's not always easy, and sometimes, we need to use tough love ..

To the family, don't blame yourselves, he's in a much better place now, and he's at peace. In time, may you find peace with your loss.

My heartfelt prayers and sympathies are with you at this horrible time in your lives. Please don't blame yourselves, it's not your fault.

Sandie
said

RIP BRANDON,

FOREVER MISSED

Felix - who agrees with Madie age 15
said

I agree with 15 yr old madie why are we calling this kid a hero or why are we placing this kid in such a way as if hes an angel simply for running away cause he couldnt deal with his problem? WTF is that what has this society come to now? I will do what madie has said as well and say that i am IN NO WAY hating on anyone here or looking for an argument all im saying along with madie is that if ur a teen reading this and u got issues at home the solution is NOT to run DEAL with it. running only compounds to the issue at hand

Treece7
said

To Brandon's Mom & Dad, my heart totally goes out to you both. Please don't blame each other, don't blame yourselves. I would have done the same thing. It would have been wrong to ignore the grip that gaming had on your son. You obviously loved him enough to correct his behaviour. Unfortunately, this had to happen. For some reason though, God allowed it to happen and I do believe good will come from it. Already parents are paying more attention to the insidious nature of gaming. Not everyone gets so "obsessed" just like not everyone becomes an alcoholic. My 15 year old son, (now 18) was also totally obsessed with gaming. For him it was Counterstrike. His addiction led to drug use, skipping school, etc, etc. Are these addictions directly related? Who knows?? But I think they were. He replaced his gaming addiction with drug addiction which got so out of control that we had to remove him from the Province and away from all negative influences to try to bring him back to reality. (He was way up in northern Manitoba helping out on Indian reserves - no technology whatsoever). Harsh, but necessary. Otherwise, we too would most likely be short one member of our family. However, it took a long hard road for us to get to that point. Poor Brandon was just starting out. God Bless him.

Dave Barton in Newington
said

Like everyone else posting here I also checked the news daily for information that Brandon had been found safe and returned to his family.
I know it will mean very little to the family at this time, but I truly believe every mother and father of teen kids have asked themselves in the past weeks what exactly they would have done had the same circumstances happened with their teen.
For myself and several others I have spoken with the answer is the same as you did Mr Crisp.
How many times have our teens stormed out of the house because they disagreed with their parents?
There is no blame at all on you or your family. Raising a teen is one of the most complicated and frustrating events any parent can go through and this tragic event could easily have happened in any one of thousands of homes throughout the world, and every single one of the parents in those families know full well that it could easily been them in your place.
Rest in Peace,Brandon and may that same peace extend to the Crisp family, who's grief is shared by every Mom and Dad out there, who only wanted to guide their precious offspring through a troubled time in their lives.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.....

A better time is coming ....
said

Some words of encouragement at this time:

REVELATION 21:
1) Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2) And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3) And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 4) and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away. 5) And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new " And He said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true."

Michael (Ottawa)
said

"When you lose your parents, you're an orphan, when you lose your spouse, you're a widow(er), when you lose a child, there are no words..."

Yes, there is one word.

Crushed.

Ziggy -Orangeville
said

This is a very sad story, I feel bad for the family, and hope they can move on...not an easy task.

I have a 15 year old son who plays Xbox, and I know how addictive it gets for him. I can see how taking it away would make him angry, unfortunately when we get angry we make irrational decisions.

Kids need to put things into perspective and understand that their parents make decisions out of concern for their child's well being, we want them to succeed, not to "Control" them...it's easy when your young to sit on the couch and play for hours on end with no worry in the world....fast-forward 10 years, where will you be?

J sawchuk
said

I am a stranger also and am not a parent but i am a Aunty to A 14year old and since the moment i heard about Brandon, I was devestated,cause if it was my nephew I would not know what to do. My prayers are with The family and friends of Brandon.this is all so sad.God bless you Brandon,you will never be forgotten.

Abby
said

Deepest Sympathies To The Crisp Family.

Eleanor
said

Tears ran down my face the whole time I read this piece
if you have children you can only imagine what the loss is
and the hole it leaves in your heart
God Bless both of you and his sisters
Just know Canadians all over are praying for Brandon and all of you during this difficult time

Lori Park
said

I don't even know how to start but my deepest sympathy's. And what they say when you loss a child their is no words.
But to blame Xbox and other games is I think is totally ridicules. I as a parent am at wits end but realize that you can't keep blaming everyone or everything.
I also raised my children with time out and taking something that they loved away. (none of that worked)
To put my thoughts in short sometimes it is just the personality of the person, I believe that if Brandon's parent told him that he could not go to a hockey
tournament Brandon would have done the same thing. So please stop blaming games and TV or what ever else their is. (including yourself)
I must say I also have a 15 year old Branden (he also is very small) and he always threatens to leave too. I am not as nice to offer a coat. I say you leave with what you came into this world
with. So how bad would I feel?

Michael Dorosh, Calgary
said

Every 15 year old boy has a desire for adventure and escapism; this was a terrible accident for which there can be no blame attached, by anyone, to anyone. Nothing more, nothing less. Condolences to the family.

Jill
said

Truely truely heartbreaking.

Peace to the family.

Kathryn
said

I hope that any kids who have been following this story realise the danger of running away. Your parents don't know where you are going, so if something happens to you, they won't know where to look for you.

To Brandon's parents, I strongly believe that you did the right thing in taking his X box away, no one could've predicted the terrible outcome from your decision.

Brandon: Rest in Peace & know that your family loves you and only had your best interest at heart.

mommyamie
said

Such a sad day. My thoughts and hugs to Brandon's family. I love that picture of him with the blue sky and the shining blondness. No parent knows all the answers. We try our best to do the best for our children, and what may work for one child may not work for the other. So sorry this had to pan out this way. I have many times grounded my kids because I felt the need to. I love them and cannot imagine ever going to sleep without knowing where they are. As they get older and more independent, my heart is scared for them but still we let them experience for themselves. Sorry I'm going on and on. Hugs to your dear family Brandon, love and hugs to you.

Mike in ON
said

I'm not a father - yet - but as someone who aspires to parenthood, this story has broken my heart. I know that no one ever said parenting was easy, but an incident like this is truely horrific.
I live in Barrie, and believe me, the entire city feels this loss. Steve and Angelika, you did your best to recognize, and correct behaviour that concerned you in your son, and should be commended for that. All too often, we hear of cases where the parents don't care, and simply allow it to continue, until the addiction has taken over. It is my belief that Brandon also recognizes that your actions were right, and demonstrated your love for him.
No doubt the road ahead will be difficult, and full of many adjustments for Brandon's family, friends, and community. May God be your comfort in this journey.

Dennis and Marilyn Krahn
said

Our only son got himself lost for about 6 hours when he was 4 years old; that happened 34 years ago and to this day I can still remember the panic and the heavy feeling of dread that came over us.

We cannot imagine what Brandons family must feel at this time; my wife and I are so sorry for the loss of your son; may God go with you during this vey difficult time.

Rajeev
said

Let's separate the issues: stopping a kid from playing X-Box and what happened to Brandon. The two are not related. I mean Brandon could have climbed a tree and fallen any other time - it was not a direct or remotely related result of his being denied his X-Box game. I think sometimes people have to stop connecting the dots unnecessarily, else it just leads to meaningless associations of cause-and-effect and finding someone or something to blame.