View Full Version : Microsoft Adds Money to Reward for Lost Gamer
Doctor Setebos
10-25-2008, 12:34 PM
A 15-year-old Canadian gamer has gone missing. His parents are frantic, and search parties have been coming up empty. The only lead they have is that the kid was apparently a big Call of Duty player. So now, Microsoft has stepped up and donated $25,000 towards a reward for any details that help lead officials to the missing gamer. This is in addition to any resources they have already made available.
Microsoft said they would do anything they can to expedite the process to find Brandon," said Sgt. Dave Goodbrand, spokesman for the Barrie police.
Brandon's parents say he was obsessed with playing an online game called Call of Duty 4 on his Xbox and police have been working with Microsoft to track down the Internet addresses of everyone who interacted with the 15-year-old before he disappeared. There are concerns he may have gone to meet someone he met online.
http://www.gamepolitics.com/files/blogimages/brandon-missing-flyer3.jpg
Brandon Crisp, age 15
Source - GamePolitics (http://www.gamepolitics.com/2008/10/25/microsoft-adds-25k-missing-gamer-reward-fund)
Update: edited to add photo and name of the missing gamer for any Canadians who might be able to spot him.
Rune_74
10-25-2008, 12:41 PM
Once again games will be blamed for bad parenting....
Wraith
10-25-2008, 12:45 PM
From the GamePol link:UPDATE: Steve Crisp, Brandon's father, is urging Microsoft to expedite the process of extracting contact information from the hard drive of the missing boy's Xbox 360, reports CTV. Mr. Crisp made this plea:The key to finding my son lies in this XBox hard drive. Please, if you can speed up the process of handing this information over to our police, it could mean a big difference in our son's safe return. There are a lot of red tape and legal issues I know that Microsoft probably has, and the police probably have.
darkbase
10-25-2008, 12:47 PM
police have been working with Microsoft to track down the Internet addresses of everyone who interacted with the 15-year-old before he disappeared.
What? Are they going to use people's IP to find their real address and then show up at their home (if they live near the kid, I suppose)?
Wraith: Wow, it's pretty freakin crazy how adamant the father is about using the Xbox to find his son. Wtf, did they not know the kid very well other than "oh, he plays video games"?
KingGorilla
10-25-2008, 12:51 PM
Virtual equivalent of canvassing a neighborhood annd banging on doors. This reminds me, any of you who twitter should use the Amber Alert twitter, or at least bookmark it.
Hg-203
10-25-2008, 01:40 PM
Virtual equivalent of canvassing a neighborhood annd banging on doors. This reminds me, any of you who twitter should use the Amber Alert twitter, or at least bookmark it.
Hmm, I didn't know there was an amber alert twitter, thanks for that heads up.
IIntrude
10-25-2008, 02:12 PM
M rated game...15 year old kid...parents blaming games and the internet...yea makes perfect sense.
Johan
10-25-2008, 02:24 PM
M rated game...15 year old kid...parents blaming games and the internet...yea makes perfect sense.
Agreed.
I got nothing else.
Disgustipated
10-25-2008, 02:44 PM
M rated game...15 year old kid...parents blaming games and the internet...yea makes perfect sense.
I think maybe you're not reading the article correctly. The article in no way implicates games as being bad. It just states that the kid was obsessed with Call of Duty 4 and may have met someone online, hence him missing. It does not say that videogames made him crazy, or go missing. Just that the may be the answer to where he is.
Doctor Setebos
10-25-2008, 02:59 PM
I think maybe you're not reading the article correctly. The article in no way implicates games as being bad. It just states that the kid was obsessed with Call of Duty 4 and may have met someone online, hence him missing. It does not say that videogames made him crazy, or go missing. Just that the may be the answer to where he is.Thanks for clarifying that.
No one is blaming video games for anything. Call of Duty was just something he was highly involved in that they are using as a possible lead.
Of course, it's a valid point that he should never have been playing the game to begin with.
Purple Santa
10-25-2008, 03:09 PM
Let's hope the kid gets home safely. Nice gesture on MS part for the reward too.
You have to read the rest of the Game Politics articles on this to get the full story.
There is a very clear implication that the kid may have been lured into a kidnapping through online play in previous stories. His parents believe this to be the case, and what brought about the kid running away is when the parents took his Xbox 360 away due to thinking he was obsessed with the game.
Hopefully, the kid will be found unharmed. Microsoft is definitely doing the right thing by cooperating with police and adding to the reward.
Edit: Can we please get a pic on the news post just in case any Canadians see the kid?
LongStepMantis
10-25-2008, 03:29 PM
I feel for them, and I really hope they find him ok.
Have to give props to MS for being the good guys and helping out. Even if it is just so they don't get negative press over it. If he did get kidnapped, MS should just pay the ransom. They have the money, and how good would that make them look?
Xerxes
10-25-2008, 03:32 PM
That boy has probably played with hundreds or thousands of people world wide. Really? I mean if they want his friends list, can't they just cut the xbox on? Does anyone lock there xbox?
That boy has probably played with hundreds or thousands of people world wide. Really? I mean if they want his friends list, can't they just cut the xbox on? Does anyone lock there xbox?
If someone was playing with him a whole lot, that could be helpful.
Gormanimal
10-25-2008, 04:15 PM
It is good of MS to help out, even if they are not responsible for the situation occurring. Fortunately Mr. Thompson is also offering his help:
(http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=66d40dec-dea0-4066-8601-5565af4d7e47)
Miami lawyer Jack Thompson called Barrie police offering his help. Thompson, whose cases have included a youth who committed murder by re-enacting scenes from video games, said a young person addicted to video games can be traumatized if forced to go cold turkey.
"It's a psychological and physiological condition," said Thompson. "These are tough things to have the kid go cold turkey."
LongStepMantis
10-25-2008, 04:23 PM
It is good of MS to help out, even if they are not responsible for the situation occurring. Fortunately Mr. Thompson is also offering his help:
(http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=66d40dec-dea0-4066-8601-5565af4d7e47)
For fuck's sake. Why? So he can use it as a platform to expose the evils in gaming...as always? I'd say if he was kidnapped by someone, that it has more to do with whoever did so being a fucking degenerate than anything game related. What will his angle be? "Games will make you into kidnappers! Who rape puppies!" :rolleyes:
TrackZero
10-25-2008, 06:17 PM
This comment will probably get me in some guff. But I'll point out the kid is from Barrie. Which in my experience, is probably one of the worst places in Ontario (I could name off other places which are perceived to be worse, but Barrie in my experience takes the cake). With regards to crime (of all kinds, including people who'd kidnap some kid for whatever sick thing is in their head). I could go on with examples of the type of shit I've seen go on in that town, but it's besides the point.
The kid ran away from home, there's no definite link that this is anything to do with his CoD4 play. It's just the best lead they have. He very will could have been snatched off the street. Either way, I hope they find him alive and safe.
hostchecker
10-25-2008, 08:53 PM
I'd run away if my parents wouldnt let me play games...
http://www.hostchecker.info/image9.jpg
MagGnome
10-26-2008, 11:07 AM
It will be interesting to see just how much information Microsoft hands over to the authorities. I would think that could lead to some kind of privacy lawsuit.
Does MS track voice and text communication in any way? I doubt they can do much of that - the logistics and storage capacity would be a nightmare.
I guess this throws out my plans of luring ADDGirl to my home after we play some Fable 2. :rolleyes:
BlackPete
10-26-2008, 02:44 PM
This comment will probably get me in some guff. But I'll point out the kid is from Barrie. Which in my experience, is probably one of the worst places in Ontario (I could name off other places which are perceived to be worse, but Barrie in my experience takes the cake). With regards to crime (of all kinds, including people who'd kidnap some kid for whatever sick thing is in their head). I could go on with examples of the type of shit I've seen go on in that town, but it's besides the point.
Being very familiar with the town (well city now) of Barrie, this made me LOL. There are a lot of weirdos in Barrie, but it's still nowhere near as crazy as downtown Toronto these days.
Still, seeing the aftermath of the 5-point intersection explosion was pretty weird.
BlackPete
10-26-2008, 02:46 PM
And yeah... the pic should be a part of the news, along with his name:
http://www.gamepolitics.com/files/blogimages/brandon-missing-flyer3.jpg
Doctor Setebos
10-27-2008, 07:23 AM
And yeah... the pic should be a part of the news, along with his name:Thanks. I got it posted in the OP. I would have done it sooner but I was largely offline all weekend.
Hyperglide
11-05-2008, 08:36 PM
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/toronto/archive/2008/11/05/205811.aspx
RIP Brandon Crisp :(
rinichanraar
11-06-2008, 12:51 AM
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/toronto/archive/2008/11/05/205811.aspx
RIP Brandon Crisp :(
Aw, man. That's horrible. :(
This is very sad. I wonder if there were signs of foul play or if he simply froze to death.
Deunnero
11-06-2008, 06:24 AM
It was all over the news this morning, some hunters found a boy. Police do not suspect foul play.
Sad indeed. :(
Xerxes
11-06-2008, 09:38 PM
Can i still be mad about the constant mention of COD 4?
Can i still be mad about the constant mention of COD 4?
A kid died.
LongStepMantis
11-07-2008, 12:40 PM
A kid died.
You both have valid points, but I think the point Xerxes was making is that the kid died because of running away from an abysmal home life.
He could just as easily have done so over a book, or watching TV, or getting caught smoking in the garage. The video game part just seems tacked on for no real reason.
No one is denying that the outcome is tragic.
Xerxes
11-07-2008, 09:43 PM
You both have valid points, but I think the point Xerxes was making is that the kid died because of running away from an abysmal home life.
He could just as easily have done so over a book, or watching TV, or getting caught smoking in the garage. The video game part just seems tacked on for no real reason.
No one is denying that the outcome is tragic.
Exactly. They are putting it out there like that is the only reason why he ran away from home. But if they were crappy parents I doubt they would mention that.
I knew what you were upset about, but let's save our outrage for if the parents continue blaming games when he clearly wasn't lured away by a pedo in an online game (if only - sexual abuse is really bad, and some people say that "you never get over it" but that's hyperbole. Death IS permanent.)
They could be decent parents who were simply out of touch with their teenager because teenagers are incredibly difficult to love sometimes, and they were quick to blame a videogame and this misplaced blame may have been what killed him. How many false leads did law enforcement follow instead of taking a posse out to the wooded area that was his last known location. If a kid goes missing around here and the last known location is somewhere in the woods, then about a 1000 people get out in the woods with police dogs and we find the kid.
They have to deal with their son being dead, and they have to deal with the fact that their histrionics about the evils of videogames may have been what put him in the ground. I guess anger at them is an appropriate response, but I feel pity.
fitbabits
11-08-2008, 07:09 AM
I knew what you were upset about, but let's save our outrage for if the parents continue blaming games when he clearly wasn't lured away by a pedo in an online game (if only - sexual abuse is really bad, and some people say that "you never get over it" but that's hyperbole. Death IS permanent.)
The mental scars from sexual abuse NEVER fully heal. Suggesting it's "hyperbole" shows a depressing lack of empathy on your part.
The mental scars from sexual abuse NEVER fully heal. Suggesting it's "hyperbole" shows a depressing lack of empathy on your part.
It pains me to read that you interpreted my statements that way, because I think sexual abuse is awful. It can take a lot of therapy to get over it, but the idea that it is something people never fully get over is a talk television myth. There are a huge number of sexual abuse survivors who get therapy and get over the many damaging effects of sexual abuse. In fact, many survivors won't admit they are survivors in these types of discussions because they don't want people to perceive them as permanently damaged. Maybe you like being regarded with pity and wariness?
There a lot of people who don't get help and are scarred indefinitely as well as people who get better without help or never get better in spite of help. Exceptions are out there. If you are interested in this, read up on abuse survivors or even attend an online meeting. Most talk television is crap, and you'll see echoes of people who believe and spout it in these places too, but talk to a therapist directly about this and you'll learn how it is survivable.
However, the point is that while sexual abuse is awful, death can't be cured. I'd rather be fearful of people like my abuser, have difficulty trusting people, suffer altered sexuality, bad dreams, sleeplessness, etc. and be alive, but, even better, I'd rather have therapy and remove most or all of these damaging effects.
Xerxes
11-08-2008, 05:36 PM
It pains me to read that you interpreted my statements that way, because I think sexual abuse is awful. It can take a lot of therapy to get over it, but the idea that it is something people never fully get over is a talk television myth. There are a huge number of sexual abuse survivors who get therapy and get over the many damaging effects of sexual abuse. In fact, many survivors won't admit they are survivors in these types of discussions because they don't want people to perceive them as permanently damaged. Maybe you like being regarded with pity and wariness?
If I'm not mistaken James has worked with abuse victims. So I don't think he's talking about your "Talk Television Myth." He's talking real life; But where is your information coming from? You say they move on and stop talking about it. That doesn't mean it's out of their mind.
It's being completely violated and no cure for that. That's like telling everyone with posttraumatic stress disorder, they can just get over it cause it's not death. If they haven't gotten over it just get more therapy.
You say they move on and stop talking about it. That doesn't mean it's out of their mind.
I didn't say that.
It's being completely violated and no cure for that. That's like telling everyone with posttraumatic stress disorder, they can just get over it cause it's not death. If they haven't gotten over it just get more therapy.
I didn't say that either.
I have not minimized the effects of sexual abuse. It's absolutely awful and damaging, but people survive it and most of them (particularly those who get help) can get better. What I have said is that it is recoverable - unlike death. I'm comparing two really awful things. If you disagree with this, you aren't going to believe me, and should ask a professional about this. I'm getting my information from a therapist.
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