O'LEARY, P.E.I. — Darren Hutchinson was out in a dory on Thursday morning when he learned his son’s body was found.
Alex Hutchinson had been missing for eight days when searchers located him.
“We had just started looking, maybe fifteen minutes and officer (Chris) Goodwin called,” said Hutchinson.
At first he figured it was the usual check-in with the search co-ordinator, but that wasn’t the news searchers had to share.
“He said that there was a boat out in the water that had found a body and he advised me not to go near there,” said Hutchinson. “I was so happy to be with the people that I was with — Nathan DesRoches, Alex’s coach, and Glenn Sweet is really my best friend; he was with me and that meant a lot.”
Hutchinson headed to shore right away to collect his wife, Alex’s mom, Glenda and together, they waited to see Alex one last time at the Alberton Fire Hall.
“It was so nice to talk to him,” said Hutchinson. Alex was their only child.
Now, the grieving West Prince father is reaching out to his community with thanks.
“To the people of West Prince, we’ve been overwhelmed with the support that we’ve had. The search effort has been incredible,” he said.
“There’s just so many people, I just can’t thank everybody, we just want it out there that we appreciate everything so much.”
Alex was one of three boys in a boat that capsized on Sept. 16.
Max MacIsaac managed to swim to shore, but Ethan Reilly and Alex didn’t make it back.
Memorials were held for Ethan and Alex on Monday and Tuesday in O’Leary.
Three tables were outside the O'Leary Community Sports Centre with guest books. Max’s was between his friends and messages of support were piling up.
The letter board above the sports centre entrance read, “We play for them.”
Many who signed the books were young — peers, classmates and friends of the three boys.
Ethan’s grandfather Wayne Ballum said last week that his faith in the next generation is renewed after meeting his grandson’s friends.
Hutchinson agreed.
“That’s been a big part of getting us through this, is having all of his friends, the numbers of friends that he had is just incredible, and for them to come over and sit down and have a conversation or show us their pictures of Alex, it’s been really good for us.”
On Monday evening, hundreds of people turned out to form an honour guard for Ethan. Around 5:45, the procession made its way to the sports centre, protected at one end by members of the Alberton Fire Department in dress uniform.
Eight young men carried the casket inside to the waiting family and friends.
Only 150 people were allowed in to the facility at a time. A second memorial was held for Alex on Tuesday.
Alex was athletic, playing baseball wth the Richmond Red Sox as well as hockey with the Western Redwings and the spring league, said his dad.
Hutchinson praised the leadership Alex had from all of his hockey coaches and teammates.
“He was smaller and he was a 16 year old playing with 21 year olds, basically. We used to worry about him … but the team was incredible.”
Richmond Red Sox coach Dwayne McNeill was another big influence on Alex, said Hutchinson.
“The kids always looked like they were playing the major leagues with the uniforms and everything and that meant something."
But more than sports, Alex looked forward to a life on the water and had plans to one day fish lobster with his own boat.
Alex admired and learned a lot from his uncle Barry Cooke and cousins Kyle and Kory, said Hutchinson.
Alex had fished the spring lobster season with Alberton fisherman Stacey Scarey and then fished the first four weeks of the fall fishery with his dad before returning to school.
“He absolutely loved fishing and everything about it,” said Hutchinson. “There wasn’t a boat in Prince County that he didn’t know who the captain was.”
Westisle Consolidated, where Alex, Ethan and Max attended school, has been closed this week as the community mourns the two boys who died in the water and a third classmate, Cole Rayner, 17, who died in a motor-vehicle collision on Sunday. School counsellors have been on site and school is expected to reopen Thursday.
