Mother of 17-year-old killed on Surrey, B.C., bus tracked his phone to hospital
Holly Indridson said her son, Ethan Bespflug, was on the bus to Surrey, B.C., southeast of Vancouver, on Tuesday night and she planned to pick him up and take him home. He used GPS to track her progress.
He knew something was wrong when he tracked Bespflug’s phone to the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster, across the Fraser River from Surrey.
“I got in my car and rushed to the hospital looking for her,” Indridson said.
She soon learned that her 17-year-old son, whom she describes as a “perfect child,” had been fatally stabbed on a bus.
“I was literally out of my body,” an emotional Indridsson said Thursday.
“I just wanted my life to end. I think I would trade mine. I don’t understand why it had to be him. Why him?’
Family members of 17-year-old Ethan Bespflug, Wesley Miller, Kira Miller, Michael Gallacher and Holly Indridson, say they are devastated by the loss of their “loving” boy.
RCMP said the stabbing happened just before 9:30 p.m. Tuesday on a bus in Surrey, not far from the King George SkyTrain station.
Police patrols are being stepped up while investigators identify the suspect, but no arrests have been made.
It was the second fatal stabbing on a bus in the city southeast of Vancouver this month.
The first victim, whose throat was cut on April 1, is now recovering at home. A man has been charged with terrorism in that case, and police have said the attacks are unrelated.
“It just doesn’t make sense.” mother
Family said Besplug was a hard worker, a good student and a loving older brother.
“It just doesn’t make sense,” Indridson said of his son’s death.
Stepfather Mike Gallacher said the family, including his four younger siblings, is trying to figure out how to keep moving forward.
“We just have to remind them that they had a big brother with a heart of gold,” she said.
They call for changes. Bespflug’s aunt, Andrea Van Der Gracht, calls for security on the buses.
“As a community, we have to stick together,” Van Der Gracht said.
“We have to keep each other safe. Maybe we need more mental health support, more community outreach programs for teenagers and young adults.”
Prime Minister David Eby said Thursday that police had increased their patrols on buses and trains after Bespflug’s death, calling it every parent’s nightmare.
Public Safety Secretary Mike Farnworth is reaching out to transit agencies and police to determine if more resources are needed for security, Eby said.
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