The city inquest into the death of seven First Nation youth remains focused on the death of 18 year old Curran Strang in September of 2005.
His boarding parent at the time, Patsy Dunville testified that she never allowed drinking in her home in front of the students she took care of, nor did she buy them alcohol. Dunville also testified that she called education officials two times the evening that Strang was last seen.
The inquest also heard that not all visiting students who attended Dennis Franklin Cromarty high school in the mid 2000’s had a good experience with their boarding parents. Former student council member James Benson, said some were restricted access to the basics, like food. He noted that in one case someone reported the food cupboards and refrigerator at one home were locked. Benson says many students were afraid to speak up about such problems.
There was also testimony from on call student support worker Traci Lyons. She filed a missing person’s report with police the day after Strang disappeared but testified there were at least three mistakes on the police report about Strang’s disappearance. They were: Strang was a runaway, which he wasn’t , that he was from a foster home rather than a boarding home and the date he was last seen was also wrong. Finally, Student Support Worker Tamara Day says she reached out to his friends. Day says they finally told her that they were drinking with him several days before and left him at the McIntyre River.
