Kenneth Berg’s family finally has closure.
The body of the 60-year-old, who went missing last Oct. 26 after leaving Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, was found on Saturday in a ditch along Goods Road.
His brother Richard Berg said the family has expected the worst for some time, and while the discovery doesn’t make it any easier, at least they know what happened.
"It’s a good news, bad news situation. Of course the bad news is that my brother is deceased. The good news is that after disappearing on discharge from the regional hospital last Oct. 26, that we’ve now finally found him and he’s come home to us," Richard Berg said.
It’s been tough to grieve and mourn, he added, saying not knowing his schizophrenic brother’s fate has been a drain on his entire family.
"You can’t come to terms with the situation. It’s been difficult," he said. "Now we can move on with our lives."
Berg said he’ll remember three distinct stages in Kenneth’s life, starting with the young, outgoing teenaged athlete who took part in diving competitions and cross-country running and fishing.
"After he became ill, all this became lost to him. While other people were getting on with their lives, his was suspended. It took him until arriving in Thunder Bay to be on the proper medication.
"Since that time his highs and lows have been cut off and he’s been able to lead the social life that he wanted to lead. And I’m grateful to the people who helped him live his live in his group home and I’m grateful to the people who were involved in his medical career," said Richard Berg, calling his sibling’s time in Thunder Bay the "good stage."
If there’s something positive to be gained from his brother’s death, Richard Berg said he hopes it will lead the hospital to review its discharge policy, which saw outpatient Kenneth Berg released on his own the night he died.
"You hear a lot about intake and how they process people, but chronic care patients like my brother fall through the cracks. I wouldn’t like any more tragedies like this," Richard Berg said.
"I spoke to the doctor in the emergency the evening after, and he commented on how they have a high number of patients passing through the emergency ward on a regular basis. I appreciate that they’re overloaded with work. It’s really a systemic failure in health care and no individual person should be blamed for this."
Thunder Bay Police spokesman Chris Adams said the discovery was made when the property owner was draining water from a drainage ditch. When the water level dropped, Berg’s body was spotted.
"They called police," Adams said on Monday. "As of the result of a post-mortem examination, and other identification, they were able to establish that it was Mr. Berg."
An extensive search for Berg was conducted in the aftermath of his disappearance, first noticed when he didn’t return to a halfway house where he was living at the time.
Adams said there is no reason to suspect foul play.
"There’s no physical evidence of that, and nothing from the post-mortem examination to indicate that," Adams said.
"Most likely (he) walked and became disoriented. It was late at night when he left Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. It was after 11 p.m., and it would have been dark and it would have been very cold. His exact route may not be known, but it does appear he was walking a considerable distance."
