”I couldn’t find my son. I was looking.”
Families of two young boys are grieving their deaths, one day after a family outing turned to tragedy.
Fifteen-year-old Alex Martin and his cousin, 11-year-old Mitchell Paris both died after three snowmobiles, and the five people who were riding them went through the ice on Lake Muskoka just after midnight on Monday.
Martin’s stepfather, his uncle, and younger brother, 14, were all able to escape the freezing water and make their way back to shore.
“It happened so fast,” says Martin’s stepfather. “I can’t even explain all of it. All I know is we came to a stop, we were getting ready to turn around, and as we went to turn around it all broke up from under us.”
Nick Martin, Alex’s birth father, received the devastating news hours later.
“I was at home, and I learned at five in the morning,” he sighs heavily. “Two OPP officers showed up to my door, and they told me.”
Nick says Alex was a good role model for Mitchell. “He was the best. He was great at everything. He loved basketball and snowmobiling, and he was a great older brother. He was a great kid,” he pauses briefly and quietly says,” He was my baby boy. My first-born.”
The boys' schools are offering counselling to students and staff to deal with the sudden loss.
Alex was a student at Gravenhurst High School while Mitchell went to Bracebridge Public School.
Family friends remember 11-year-old Mitchell as a fun-loving kid.
“He was always smiling, always happy, and always ready to help out no matter what. He was a good kid all the way around,” says Katelyn Good.
Two Go Fund Me pages have been set up to help the families pay for funeral arrangements.
The Minister at Trinity United Church in Gravenhurst tells CTV News that a joint funeral service for the cousins will take place at noon on Friday.
Members of the public who wish to pay their respects to their families are invited to the church on Friday between 10:30 a.m. and noon.
