Radek and Ryder MacDougall were supposed to be in Whitecourt to spend the holidays with their mother and stepfather.
The brothers, aged 11 and 13, had been living in Spruce Grove just west of Edmonton with their father.
Their friends were eagerly anticipating their return, with plans to play shinny.
Brady Augot, 13, got a text message from Ryder on Sunday.
“He was going to come back home, come visit me and go play hockey somewhere,” said Augot, who hoped he’d be having a sleepover with his friend, “drinking pop, watching Netflix, watching however many movies that we could stay up to watch.”
Radek and Ryder MacDougall were found dead Monday morning in a rented house in Spruce Grove alongside the body of their father, Corry MacDougall, 39. RCMP confirmed it was a double murder-suicide.
Members of the Whitecourt Wolverines hockey team showed solidarity for the MacDougall and Stark families on Tuesday night. (Zoe Todd/CBC)
The boys’ family and hundreds of friends gathered Tuesday night for a candlelight vigil on the snow-covered lawn of their mother and stepfather’s house.
‘Hard enough for an adult to understand’
Looking at the crowd of tear-streaked young faces, Radek and Ryder’s mother, Tracy Stark offered words of comfort.
“It’s hard enough for an adult to understand – all these kids that don’t have an answer and nor do we,” she said. “I just know Ryder and Radek are are looking down on us.
“They’re going to give me strength to get through this … and everybody else who’s here. I just thank you for being here and supporting and just loving us and loving them. Never forget them.”
The boys’ former teammates and classmates took in her words, the flames from their candles gently flickering. Many were wearing the red hockey jersey of the Whitecourt Wolverines — the team that Tracy and Brent Stark own — including Radek’s friends.
A group of them stood shoulder-to-shoulder, their parents behind them for support.
Connor Smith, 11, said Radek MacDougall was ‘one of the sweetest boys alive.’ (Zoe Todd/CBC)
Connor Smith, 11, said Radek had a big personality.
“He’s one of the sweetest boys alive. He’s really nice and funny, goofy,” said Smith, who recalled with a half-smile Radek hip-checking him so hard he went flipping during a mini-sticks game.
“I miss him a lot, very, very much. I love you Radek.”
Community comes together
Rodney Koscielny is a close friend of Tracy and Brent Stark.
“Tracy, that was her world and the boys, to them, their mom was their world,” Koscielny said.
“This is just something that shouldn’t happen and it’s affected this community quite a lot.”
Maryann Chichak, the mayor of Whitecourt, said the turnout and the emotions on display reflected a tight-knit community that rallies around its neighbours. (Zoe Todd/CBC)
The population of Whitecourt, about 180 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, is about 11,000. Mayor Maryann Chichak said it’s incredibly close-knit.
“If you didn’t know Tracy and Brent personally, you knew people that were connected and close to them and that’s what I think you saw here tonight,” she said, as people lingered after lighting floating lanterns and sending them into the night sky, towards Radek and Ryder.
There was a growing collection of meaningful mementos — hockey sticks, teddy bears baseball caps — at the base of the lamppost on the front drive.
Candles, hockey gear and other mementos are laid down in tribute to the young brothers who were found dead on Monday. (Zoe Todd/CBC)
Chichak said a tragedy of this scale has never overwhelmed Whitecourt before, and she believes the community will come together to help the family through it.
“Our hearts, our condolences, our thoughts, our prayers are with Tracy, with Brent, their family, their extended family, their friends,” she said. “Our community showed solidarity tonight to help them through the healing process, to begin the healing process and that’s what our community is all about. I know we’ll be there for them in the future as well.”