Run away gamer found dead.

[Clawson]

Source: Yahoo Australia

The teen's father Steve Crisp previously said he had removed Brandon's Xbox after noticing changes in his behaviour since Brandon started playing Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare online.

The youngster started skipping school, stealing money and ignoring his studies, his father said.

I can understand skipping school if you become addicted, but how on earth does playing COD4 make you more likely to steal money. The mind boggles, honestly.

Fees for XBOX Live.

And on another note, the school he went to goes by the awesome nickname of St. Hoes around Barrie.

Edited November 6, 2008 by Clawson

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

AJ: They haven't announced how he died yet. There's an autopsy tomorrow, but "foul play is not suspected".

In the meantime, today's local paper carried this story on the front page. Somewhere else in the paper was an ad for Gears of War 2 being released tonight. One lady complained that this was insensitive and offensive, and somehow got on the local TV news for it.

[Mountainous Cleavage]

lol, Canada.

Wait, thats me. Shit.

Been hearing bout this for a little bit from my mother, stupid situation in my opinion. Stupid for the kid to react as he did, thus getting himself killed, and also stupid for the game having any 'blame' for it. I guess you could put me on the 'Parents Fault' side as if they obviously seen their son attached to the game, at what point would it have to be for them to give it back to him. He threatens to run away, if your really worried about your kid playing video games then you should really be worried about your kid running off at 15.

[MalaCloudy Black]

Most kids threaten lots of things without following up on their threats.

[Mountainous Cleavage]

Most kids threaten lots of things without following up on their threats.

But surely when you see your kid headed out the door, the thoughts gotta cross your mind as a parent 'Am I really sure if he'll come back?'. In this case, apparently not.

[TheRyno]

"This had become his identity, and I didn't realise how in-depth this was until I took his Xbox away," Crisp told the Globe and Mail.

"That's like cutting his legs off."

I'm sorry but am I the only one here laughing at this? I just got a mental image of the dad cutting his kid's legs off instead of taking his XBox. Maybe if he did cut his legs off, he wouldn't have ran away...

[Toe]

So this is what makes international headlines from my hometown?

This is more then just a kid who liked playing games. This teen obviously was obsessed with the game, addicted to the game. Taking it away from him pushed him over the edge and he stopped thinking rationally.

The only reason this is getting all this attention is the link to video games. The woman who went missing and then ended up in a bunch of garbage bags got maybe 1% of the coverage this has received.

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

It's also because this kid's mom worked for a newspaper (I believe the Toronto Star?) and had lots of contacts in the media industry to get her story out.

[Clawson]

She worked for the Barrie Advance, one of my hometown newspapers (you fuck off Toe ).

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTV...108?hub=Toronto

Fall from tree likely killed Brandon: autopsy

Updated: Sat Nov. 08 2008 3:24:17 PM

ctvtoronto.ca

Police have a cause of death for Barrie, Ont. teen Brandon Crisp but the full story behind his final days might never be known, suggests a Barrie police officer.

"The investigators from OPP (Ontario Provincial Police) and Barrie are working together to piece together a timeline and help us understand what led Brandon to where he was, what occurred in the hours leading up to his death," Sgt. Dave Goodbrand told ctvtoronto.ca on Saturday.

"And a lot of those questions might not be answered, but everybody's doing what they can to look into this and see what they can determine."

However, foul play has been ruled out, he said.

Autopsy results suggest Crisp died from chest injuries, possibly sustained in a fall from a tree. The 15-year-old went missing from Thanksgiving Day until hunters discovered his body on Wednesday.

"The cause of the death was determined through medical examination to be as a result of injuries to the chest area that are consistent with a fall from a tree," the police said Saturday in a news release.

Goodbrand said police can't answer yet how far Brandon might have fallen, adding that will be one question addressed in the ongoing investigation.

Brandon left home after he got into an argument on Oct. 13 with his parents, Steve and Angelika, about his constant Xbox video game playing. He was obsessed with the combat game "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare." His family never heard from him again.

Police launched boat, helicopter and foot searches in the areas where they thought Brandon may have headed, including to the rail trail where he was last seen alive. Volunteers supplemented the police search by expanding the area.

Police also restarted the search last weekend, canvassing drivers and others in the area where Brandon was last seen to see if anyone knew something that might help find the youth.

On Wednesday, locals out deer hunting stumbled upon a body matching Brandon's description in a wooded area east of Barrie, more than three weeks after he first disappeared. The body was outside the search area.

The hunters have reportedly said they don't think Brandon's body had been there for three weeks.

"We have never released details that said he's been there three weeks. We don't even know the amount of time he was there," Goodbrand said.

The medical examiners will release information as to the time of death if they can determine it, but details on the body's condition won't be released out of respect to Brandon's family, he said.

Some media reports speculated earlier that Brandon might have succumbed to hypothermia, a dangerous lowering of the body's core temperature that can eventually lead to death.

Goodbrand said that might have been based on earlier conjecture that it would have been difficult for Brandon to survive outdoors under chilly conditions, given the limited clothing he had with him.

"Obviously we based our information based on the post-mortem," he said.

The parents learned about the autopsy's results on Friday night.

"It's a very difficult time for them, they're taking it very hard," Goodbrand said. "This is tragic news for everybody involved."

Steve and Angelika are expected to make a public statement in the coming days.

They will hold a funeral for their son at 10 a.m. on Friday at St. Mary's Church in Barrie.

With files from The Canadian Press

We must ban trees to protect our kids.

[naiwf]

I thought you Canadians were supposed to be an intelligent, hardy lot. A kid dying from falling out of a tree after his daddy takes his XBox is not good for your street cred.

[apsham]

Oh, I'm sure some American boy will die after trying to imitate something sooner or later and we'll be covered.

[TheRyno]

But therein lies the difference: We Americans imitate things since we don't have minds of our own. But you Canadians just run away because it's in your blood. Your French blood that tastes like merlot and cheese.

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

And burned down the White House. You forgot that part.

[Gazz]

I blame Summ

[apsham]

You have little knowledge of the fundamental history of Canada, don't you?

[Captain Eo]

I feel like I should be vomiting.

Maybe if I wasn't stoned I could decide a little better on what part of that story I'm most outraged by.

But for now alas I think I'm just pissed because it didn't end with "I'm Bill Gates, and I approve this message."

Fucking shit...

Falling out of a tree and dying has to really suck, especially if you only have a gamerscore of 520.

[gunnar hendershow]

Oh, I'm sure some American boy will die after trying to imitate something sooner or later and we'll be covered.

The odds are definitely in favor of that happening. After all, we have millions of more people, and thus millions of more stupid people.

[Ruki]

And burned down the White House. You forgot that part.

They don't learn that part of the war

[Guest Mr. Potato Head]

The White House burned burned burned, and we're the ones that did it!

It burned burned burned, while the Americans ran and cried!

It burned burned burned, and I'll bet that made them mad!

And the Americans ran and cried like a bunch of little babies waa waa waa!

...I may have got the second line wrong.