Microsoft hikes reward for missing Xbox boy
p2pnet news view | Games:- Brandon Crisp, the 15-year-old Canadian boy who two weeks ago ran away from home after being confronted by his parents over an apparent obsession with Microsoft Xbox game Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, is still missing.
“His bicycle was found about 10 kilometres from home a few days later along the Rail Trail, a path that follows an abandoned railway line through Oro-Medonte near the Lake Simcoe shore,” says the Toronto Star, going on
“Volunteers battled harsh winds, rain and wet snow to search the Lake Simcoe shoreline, farm fields, ditches and forests. Trees have already shed most of their colourful leaves, although it makes the hunt for Brandon no easier.”
Microsoft said it would match a $25,000 reward already being offered for information on the boy’s whereabouts.
School buses and ATVs were used during yesterday’s search, “and CFB Borden supplied the command centre with more tents as shelter against the rain,” says the Barrie Examiner, going on:
“Brandon has been missing since the afternoon of Oct. 13, after having his Xbox privileges taken away by his parents and storming out of the house. Steve and Angelika Crisp have had no contact with Brandon, but one woman reported two sightings of Brandon on the night of Oct. 13.”
The search continues and, “Contrary to other media reports that Brandon’s black and yellow backpack had been found, police are now saying that isn’t true,” says the story.
Parents have in a few cases sued video game companies for consequences arising from obsessive gaming among children and teens, says the Globe and Mail, adding:
“Although these lawsuits occur frequently in the United States, they are usually unsuccessful and the chances of winning a similar lawsuit in Canada are unlikely, said Chris Bennett, a Vancouver-based lawyer who runs the Video Games & Interactive Entertainment Law blog.
” ‘If [Brandon] ran away because the parents took away his favourite bike, I doubt the parents would win in a lawsuit against the bike manufacturer,’ he said. ‘The same should be true about games, too’.”
On Saturday, “Breaching the anonymity of gaming clansmen requires the service provider’s co-operation and Microsoft’s internal guidelines for assisting police could have caused a significant delay,” the Toronto Star had Barrie police sergeant Dave Goodbrand saying.
“Brandon’s dad made a plea to Microsoft,” Goodbrand says in this story.
“This is an exigent circumstance, where it’s a kid you’re searching for. This isn’t the same as other criminal investigations, where you’re looking for evidence.”
Toronto Star – , October 27, 2008
Barrie Examiner – Weekend search comes up empty, October 27, 2008
Globe and Mail – Microsoft doubles reward for missing Ontario boy, October 27, 2008
Toronto Star - , October 26, 2008
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October 27th, 2008 at 11:20 am
I think their may have been a jump-the-xbox push with little to no actual evidence gamers had anything to do with his disappearance but this is merely speculation, based on the fact the kid left cause he was pissed his dad took his xbox. How at that moment was he going to contact clan members when his xbox was taken away? did the clan members he conversed with know his xbox was going to be taken away? My heart goes out to brandon and his family any missing persons case is serious, the fact he was a gamer exaggerated the headlines tho.
I think Microsoft did this purely for PR but I haven’t seen/heard the non reported side of the story as of yet.
October 27th, 2008 at 11:23 am
o and another point to add
When I go missing are authorities going to contact all 100+ of my enlisted clan and question my whereabouts? I can bet on the answer theyd get : ummm… wtf?
October 28th, 2008 at 4:14 pm
The PR is probably damage control, what with Christmas right around the corner. I’m sure they’ll find him at a friends or family members house. When I was young (about this boys age) I ran away and stayed with my cousin for a week before finally returning home.