CANADA • Candice SHIELDS, 17 (found deceased) ~ Courtney BC

Missing Courtenay girl dead, RCMP report
October 24, 2011


The disappearance of Candice Shields has resulted in a search of Courtenay by the RCMP and Comox Valley Ground Search and Rescue.

Missing Courtenay girl Candice Shields is dead, Comox Valley RCMP reported Monday afternoon.

They continue to investigate, although they said foul play is not suspected.

The Comox Valley RCMP, assisted by Comox Valley Ground Search and Rescue and a helicopter, searched an area of Courtenay earlier today for the girl.

She left her residence on Panorama Crescent in Courtenay on Sunday at approximately 4:30 p.m. P.M. and had not been seen or heard from since, RCMP said Monday morning.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/news/132471098.html

Missing girl found dead
School district planning public meeting on issues
October 25, 2011

The search for a missing Courtenay teen ended tragically yesterday, after her body was discovered in a wooded area near Veterans Memorial Parkway.

But although the investigation is ongoing, foul play is not suspected, say police.

Candice Shields, a Grade 12 student at G. P. Vanier Secondary, had been missing from her home on Panorama Crescent since 4:30 p.m. on Sunday.

Comox Valley Search and Rescue had set up a search station near Lerwick and Mission Road.

A police helicopter, six dog teams, and coast guard members also joined ground search and rescue volunteers.

Rescue coordinators told media at least a hundred student volunteers were being mobilized to join the search for the teen after school, but sadly their services were not needed after Shields' body was discovered around noon.

Five School District 71 grief counsellors were dispatched to Vanier Secondary yesterday, and will be at the school again today, said Paul Berry, SD 71's Critical Incident Response coordinator.

In addition to counselling, Berry said a large, public meeting and information session is in the works to equip parents and community members with skills, strategies and resources to help students deal with grief, and to make parents more aware of other resources in the community related to death and mental wellness issues.

Berry was also in charge of the ground search and rescue effort, and said members of search and rescue would have access to counselling as well.

"These are not good days for any of us on our team, we like happy endings like anyone does," he said. "So certainly everyone at search and rescue, our hearts go out to the family at this time."

Vanier principal Charlie Schellinck said he knew Shields as a good student who was active within the school.

Schellinck also said he had met with counselling staff at the school to devise a plan of action to help students, staff and parents cope with the sudden death. Links to helpful resources will also be posted at Vanier's website.

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Roger Kishi, program director/health partnerships of the Wachiay Friendship Centre, said a suicide prevention program previously offered by Crossroads Crisis Centre began just last week throughout the three Comox Valley high schools.

"We spent a year trying to find funding and it just started this year working with the school district. (The Wachiay Friendship Centre) hired a facilitator to deliver the program in schools," he noted.

Kishi added while the program is not a suicide response program, the sessions are aimed at youth in Grades 8 to 12.

"It teaches students about suicide awareness, and to inform youth to watch for the signs of suicide, and to report them to a responsible adult," he said.

Working in conjunction with a variety of groups and associations in the area, School District 71 is hosting Community Support for Families: An Information Evening to Look at Resources Available for Families in the Comox Valley.

The event, scheduled for Nov. 3 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the gym in Mark R. Isfeld Secondary School, is to provide parents of adolescents with an introduction to the community resource groups in the area. The evening will feature introductions about the services, presentations and offer time for questions.

Groups attending the event include the Aboriginal Education Centre, Ministry of Children and Family Development Mental Heath Team and St. Joseph's Hospital Adolescent Mental Health Team members.

A Comox Valley Suicide Awareness Facebook page has also been created for students and members of the public to share thoughts and resources.

For more information on the School District 71 event, visit www.gpvanier.ca.

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Cluster of B.C. teen suicides not related, says coroner
November 03, 2011

A coroner’s review of five teen suicides in Vancouver Island’s Comox Valley over the past 18 months has found no apparent connection among them.

The three males and two females did not move in the same social circles — although four attended the same high school — none had any drug or mental health issues and none had been bullied, said Regional Coroner Matt Brown.

Brown said he hopes his report will prompt communities to create suicide prevention programs and, in the case of Comox, to help those left behind.

“This is something that family and friends will live with for many years and this community will live with many years,” he said.

Brown said there was a community forum scheduled in Comox for Thursday evening where family and friends could go to learn more about what resources are available in the community.

Brown said there were 14 teen suicides in B.C. last year and 31 in 2009.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/11/03/bc-vancouver-island-teen-suicides.html