“I started working the phones, calling whomever I could. (Bev Ware of the Chronicle Herald), whose home was minutes from the turnaround, heard scanner chatter beyond what was normal for a Saturday afternoon. At the same time, some officers from the RCMP’s Major Crime Unit had to scramble back from Halifax, where they were writing exams that could put them in line for promotions. He drove carefully as he travelled on the icy roads to Bridgewater, almost missing the Exit 12 turnoff.

Born in Toronto, he’d studied in Miami and had never been to the South Shore. A father of four, Bowes had followed the missing girl’s story with interest. Matt Bowes didn’t always attend suspicious scenes, but he immediately understood the importance of this one. Nova Scotia’s chief medical examiner drove down from Halifax. The RCMP’s Major Crime team agreed they needed the best medical examiner on site. Next, they closed the road to vehicles, diverting traffic coming out of town. Bridgewater Police ordered them back and secured the scene with yellow police tape. Curious onlookers stopped on the narrow roadside. Sirens broke the town’s silence as police cars raced to the area. Shocked, they waved down the next driver, while the boy’s mother called the police. The boy’s parents ran over to where he stood down the hill, they saw what appeared to be frozen toes sticking up through the snow.

He walked toward a tree that overlooked the LaHave River so no motorists would see him. The patch of trees beside the “Town of Bridgewater” sign appeared private enough for the boy to do his business. The out-of-town family had stopped at the turnaround spot on Highway 331 because the child needed to pee. The woman who had called in had told the police dispatcher that her nine-year-old son had found what they believed to be a body. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Manage Print Subscription / Tax Receipt.

Dark Chatter by Andrew Branch