by a medical examiner. You got to
remember there was no DNA back in
that time. So, | can’t put a percentage
on how damaging. But it would have
had a very severe impact on the
investigation,” he said.
Honeybourn began to go

Unfortunately, many of the
leads he pursued would
point to dead

a ends.
Notably, in

2014, Honeybourn disputed the claim that

- the boys were murdered in 1947. He found
a specific shoe style the boys were wearing
that was available in Vancouver before the
end of WWil—making it probable that they
were murdered prior to 1947.

One lead stood out for Honeybourn
which supports his theory that the boys
were killed before 1947. He remembered a
testimony from a couple from Esquimalt
who happened to be walking in Stanley
Park in May 1944. The couple recalls a

*
. Pa,

back and investigate old leads.

o  F- oa

Pa 5

woman in distress approaching them
while letting out a “guttural” roar. She
was wearing only one shoe, which stood
out—considering that a single shoe

was also discovered beside the bodies.
“That's why | think that the children
were probably killed in May 1944,”
Honeybourn said. “The couple went back
to the island and they were interviewed
by the RCMP over there—and that’s

the report that we have in the file. |

think that’s a very good lead and
| think that’s probably when it
happened,” he said.

In September 2018,
Honeybourn approached staff
sergeant Dale Weidman of the

Vancouver Police Department
to suggest that this lead needed
further investigation. Another
reason for the urgency in following
up with the lead was the availability
of websites like 23AndMe and
Ancestry.ca. This could possibly reveal
the identity of the two boys 67 years after
the discovery of their remains.
Honeybourn contacted the Vancouver
School Board to gain access to
elementary school attendance records
from the 1940s to find out if two boys
had been absent from school. “And
| attempted to follow that up after |
retired,” Honeybourn said. “| wanted
the school records [from] the elementary
schools in Vancouver. | went to the school
board, which | had dealt with when | was
still working [....] and asked if | could
have the school records. They phoned me
back the next day (remember I'm retired
now) [...] and said, ‘No, you're retired.’
And [school records] are sealed for 100

> ied

4

years. Why anybody would seal records
for 100 years is beyond me.”

Nevertheless, Honeybourn wanted
to honour the memory of the two children
by giving them a proper burial. He had
their skeletal remains cremated, leaving
vital parts of the bones for upcoming DNA
testing. Honeybourn later scattered the
children’s ashes into the water off Kits Point
in the 1990s. He hopes one day that the
two children will finally be identified. He
detailed why in an interview with the Globe
and Mail: “They get murdered in a major
city, in a park, and we don’t know who they
are? They're two little guys that lost their
lives way too early through no fault of their
own. | think it's incumbent upon us to try
and figure out who they are.”

Unfortunately, seven decades has
passed since the discovery of the two
children’s remains in Stanley Park. The
murderer likely has long been deceased.
There will be no upcoming trial to bring
justice for the two victims. Now it appears
that advanced technology—mainly
genealogical websites and databases—will
be key in identifying the two boys.

Finally, Brian Honeybourn mentions to
the Other Press that he remains hopeful
that the boys will be identified. “Well, I’m
an optimist by nature. I’m very optimistic
with the way science has evolved that future
investigators, those that are taking part in
the investigation now, have a very good
chance | think—in maybe identifying who
the children are. And certainly, | wish them

all the luck in the world. | really do,” he said.

One way Honeybourn believes justice can
be served is to find the names of the two
boys in order to restore their identity and
dignity.

 

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