THUNDER BAY – Evidence from three former classmates is starting to provide details on the 2007 night Reggie Bushie went missing.
The coroner’s inquest examining the deaths of Bushie as well as six other students attending high school in Thunder Bay heard from three peers who were among the last to see the 15-year-old from Poplar Hill First Nation before he disappeared.
The three friends, Jessica Pascal, Rhonda Peters and Alexis Turtle, said they were part of a group that encountered Bushie and his brother, Ricky Strang, drinking along the McIntyre River in the city’s intercity area on the night of Oct. 26, 2007.
They were with Bushie and his brother along the river between the May Street and Simpson Street bridge in the area between the Intercity Shopping Centre and Silvercity movie theatre.
Turtle testified Bushie seemed to be the most intoxicated member of the group.
At some point, the three as well as other group members left the area and proceeded west along the river past the McIntyre Centre and towards a rail bridge that crossed the river. They left Bushie and Strang behind, with all three believing Strang would contact the on-call Nishnawbe Education Council workers to be taken home.
But that never happened, as according to evidence heard during the opening days of the inquest, Strang woke up in the water and could not find his brother.
Bushie’s body was pulled from the river on Nov. 1, 2007.
After the group left Bushie and Strang behind, police officers arrived and broke up the party.
Pascal, who testified remotely from her home in Pikangikum First Nation, was arrested and ended up spending the night in police custody.
Peters left and was sent home to Pikangikum immediately after that night.
She did not learn about Bushie’s disappearance until she was questioned by officers back home.
Turtle was able to get away and walked to her boarding home.
The three had originally been scheduled to testify on Wednesday but inclement weather hindered the arrival of other witnesses.
Bushie had arrived in Thunder Bay in the fall of 2007 to start attending Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School. Less than two months had passed before he went missing.
Evidence presented earlier in the inquest from a forensic pathologist and toxicologist identified Bushie’s cause of death as drowning with alcohol intoxication recognized as a contributing factor.
The inquest continues Tuesday morning.
