Lee Bonneau inquest hears of frantic search for boy

The inquest into the death of Lee Bonneau learned Wednesday how the six-year-old boy was discovered, badly beaten, on the Kahkewistahaw First Nation in southern Saskatchewan in 2013 after walking away from a bingo.

The inquest, which started Monday, can determine the medical cause of the death and the circumstances surrounding the death.

The jury can also make recommendations aimed at preventing similar deaths.

I didn't think he was going to make it.- RCMP Cst. Mike Dijkstra

On Wednesday Mary Ramstead, the woman who was taking care of Lee as his foster parent testified, saying she regretted going to the bingo that day in August.

She said that just before an intermission in the bingo she gave Lee $4 to get a pop and snacks. She saw him with a dog, looked away and when she looked up again he was gone. She immediately started looking for him.

She testified that the boy had a tendency to wander and she was careful to keep an eye on him, calling him a "timid little boy".

Thomas Alexson, who was working at the bingo, was one of several people who started looking for Lee.

He went door to door in the community looking for Lee.

Alexson also spoke to children he encountered and was told about a boy who had been hit in the head in a specific area of the reserve.

The children spoke about another boy, aged 10.

"He just told us a story about how he beat up a little boy and crushed his head in the back hills," Alexson recounted the words of the children.

He searched the area, heard some moaning and found Lee Bonneau horribly injured. Alexson immediately called out for help.

"I screamed, 'I found him, I found him,'" he said. "I just screamed at the top of my lungs."

He said he put his sweater over the boy because he looked cold and held his hand.

He stayed with the youngster until the boy was put him into an ambulance.

All the while, he said, he gave reassuring words to the boy.

"Just me talking to him, to hold on, that he's not alone anymore," he recalled.

RCMP on the scene

RCMP had been called about the missing child when it turned dark and were about to launch a search when another call came in, saying the boy had been found severely injured.

One of the first officers on the scene was Cst. Mike Dijkstra, who said he was very worried about the boy's condition.

"I was scared for him," Dijkstra said. "I didn't think he was going to make it."

The officer also said he found a large tree branch with blood on it, and secured that as possible evidence in the case.

Dijkstra also learned that many people at the scene said a 10-year-old boy, referred to as L.T., was the child who inflicted the injuries on Lee. RCMP later said that boy is believed to be responsible for the death of Lee.

The jury was also shown pictures of the location where Lee was found, a sandy area of the reserve a short walk from the community's recreation centre and bingo hall. The jury was also provided with a picture of the dead child taken at the Regina General Hospital. The jurors were told they did not have to look at that image if they did not wish to.

Outside court Wednesday a member of Lee's family said she had a new understanding of what Ramstead went through.

"That poor woman, you know my heart just went out to her because she was absolutely devastated too," Celia Bonneau said.