A private investigator looking into the case of the “Lost Boys” who went missing in Pickering nearly three decades ago has some new information and is seeking the public’s help.
Bruce Ricketts has been working on the case since 2010 and recently viewed security footage from the marina where three of the six teenage boys were last seen on camera.
In the early morning on March 17, 1995, Jay Boyle, Chad Smith, Robbie Rumboldt, Jamie Lefebvre, Michael Cummins and Danny Higgins left a party and were never seen again. Durham Regional Police Services (DRPS) investigated the disappearances and concluded that the boys stole a boat from the East Shore Marina on Frenchman’s Bay, motored out onto Lake Ontario where they capsized their boat and died of hypothermia.
No bodies, boats or artifacts belonging to the boys were ever recovered. Ricketts continues to investigate the case.
Three of the boys were caught on a surveillance video at 1:48 a.m. on March 17. Ricketts said DRPS showed screen captures from the video to the parents who identified the three boys as Jamie, Robbie and Michael.
When Ricketts received a copy of the video from DRPS, he watched the whole 16 hours of it.
Ricketts noted three people – two females and one male – entering the marina service area a short time after the missing boys were seen on the tape.
“I was very much surprised, and the reason for it is the (Lost Boys) were clocked in at 1:48 a.m.,” he said. “This happened at 2:09 (a.m.) or 2:10 (a.m.).”
Ricketts explained the three new individuals walked across the lot, when suddenly the male moved ahead, turned to face the females and held out his arm as if he was pointing something. The video is too low resolution to make out faces or what the male might have been holding.
Ricketts said this is a very important potential break in the case, because this happened while the boys were supposedly in the marina service area.
“What did they see or hear?” Ricketts said.
Ricketts has not seen mention of this discovery in any of the police reports that have been released to him.
“These three persons are potential witnesses to what happened that night at the marina, 27 years ago, and could shed a crucial light on this case,” Ricketts said.
Ricketts also noted some other interesting findings after viewing the tape.
He said that at 2:21 a.m., the camera near the docks, which he said is the most important camera, shut down. This was during the time the boys were supposed to be in the area and shortly after the three identified persons were seen.
He questions why it was shut down and whether it was done on purpose or simply faulty.
“That’s a crucial piece of information we lost at that point in time.”
Ricketts is asking for anyone with knowledge of the event or who might know the identity of the three individuals to come forward to his tip line at lostboys.tipline@gmail.com.
