High Prairie RCMP have made an arrest in the killing of two teenagers from Whitefish Lake First Nation who went missing in July. The young couple’s parents are relieved the community is no longer living in fear of a suspect on the loose, but are still filled with grief over the loss of their children.
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Dylan Laboucan, 17, and Cory Grey, 19, went missing July 23. The community combed the area searching for the young couple, but Laboucan’s body was found July 27 and Grey’s body was discovered the next day.
“I’ve been praying. I’ve been praying every day that they catch this person who did this to my kids,” Becky Thunder, the mother of Dylan Laboucan, told Global News on Friday morning.
Watch below: The chief says the deaths of two teenagers is having a very big impact on the small, close-knit community of Whitefish Lake First Nation. Julia Wong reports July 27.
Police charged Edward Devin Boyce Gladue, 19, with two counts of second-degree murder, High Prairie RCMP said Friday afternoon. Police said there are no other suspects and they don’t believe it was a random act.
The Whitefish Lake First Nation resident was arrested Thursday in Peace River without incident. He is set to appear in provincial court on Aug. 15.
Louis Grey, Cory’s father, said news of the arrest was a relief when it comes to the safety of others.
“For our side of the family, I don’t know,” he said. “I can’t even express…the feelings keep coming back every time we hear something new.
“It can’t bring them back.”
Thunder is glad someone has been arrested in the case and said RCMP would speak more about the suspect later Friday.
“A lot of the community members were feeling unsafe and had fear knowing that the person who did this to our kids was still out there. So it brings a little ease to the community,” she said.
READ MORE: ‘They’ve taken our babies from us’: 2 northern Alberta teens deliberately killed
While the arrest brings some relief, it does little to ease the parents’ pain.
“Mornings are the hardest for us. I cry every morning for my son and his girlfriend,” Thunder explained.
“It doesn’t get any better…. to live without them. Knowing that they are gone. Waiting for my kids to come back,” she added, fighting back tears.
Grey said his wife is isolating herself from others.
“She doesn’t want to go anywhere yet, doesn’t want to face anybody,” he said. “All her sisters kept asking her to go spend some time with them to keep her busy but she’s nixing all that. She just wants to stay home.”
READ MORE: Missing teens in northern Alberta found dead, family
Cory’s father said the pair had already put a down payment on an apartment in Slave Lake and were excited about their future.
“Her and her boyfriend got a job…and they put their money towards the rent in Slave lake where they were accepted as students already,” he said. “They were ready to move, they were excited, they bought pots and pans, utensils…”
Cory was set to study early childhood development; Dylan was preparing to study power engineering.
With files from Global’s Kendra Slugoski
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