Calgarians journeyed Thursday to a north end park to hug, cry and honour the memory of an 11-year-old boy.
The makeshift memorial for Parker has grown one flower, candle and stuffed toy at a time on a footbridge in Laycock Park.
Under the railing, four large squares of poster board hung to capture handwritten thoughts, best wishes and reminders—punctuated with heart icons—that gone does not mean forgotten.
“Parker,” reads one, “ you are Calgary’s boy now.”
Nearby is a culvert and a network of underground pipes. On Wednesday, searchers found the boy’s body in one of those pipes running under the constant dust and roar of the Deerfoot Trail expressway.
Parker, who had autism and was non-verbal, wandered away from his daycare home just before lunchtime on July 16. Police have not released his last name.
His disappearance sparked a massive search that captured the attention and emotion of the city. Hundreds of police and volunteers checked and rechecked homes, boats, sheds, garages and waterways trying to find the child.
It was a complex search complicated by Parker’s neurological condition.
Police cautioned that the boy could become more scared if confronted by strangers. Searchers played some of Parker’s favourite Disney songs from patrol vehicles to try to draw him out. Some left out Goldfish crackers.
On Monday, the search was called off pending new information. That information came Tuesday, when Parker’s shoe was located near the culvert, more than three kilometres from where he first wandered away.
Police said they believe he wandered into the culvert, then deeper into the labyrinth of pipes.
Parker was last seen in the Thorncliffe neighbourhood. In the days that followed his disappearance, posters with his photo were fastened to poles and fences. By Thursday morning, the posters were gone, only shreds of adhesive tape remaining.
The death touched leaders at all levels of government, with leaders putting heartfelt messages on social media.
“My deepest and most heartfelt condolences go out to Parker’s family and loved ones,” wrote Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. “There is no greater heartbreak than the loss of a child.”
“My thoughts are with Parker’s family in Calgary tonight and all those who loved him,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a post Wednesday.
Federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and Alberta member of Parliament Mike Lake, who both have children with autism, called in a letter Thursday for changes to public alerts for autistic children.
“We know the extraordinary joy our children bring. We also understand that autistic children can face additional risks, particularly those who are prone to wandering, are non-speaking, or may be unable to ask for help when they are lost,” they said.
“Parker’s death has also exposed a serious gap in how Canada responds when vulnerable children go missing.”
Amber Alerts are currently broadcast for children abducted and in serious danger. In Parker’s case, an Amber Alert was issued as a special exemption on the second day of the search.
The National Autism Network said emergency alert systems and first-responder training need “urgent change” for vulnerable children and their families.
A group of mothers has also started petitions urging officials to launch similar broad outreach emergency messages for categories that include neurodivergent children.
“The National Autism Network will be creating space in the coming days for autistic people, families, professionals and communities to share stories, identify solutions and help shape real change,” the group said in a news release.
“No child should be lost because the world does not yet know how to find them.”
