Fred Boone describes his 15-year-old son as a typical teenager. Troy Boone loved camping, being outside and video games. He died after a stabbing last week in Edmonton.
“I don’t want this to happen to any other person, no one deserves this,” Fred said.
Fred said since February, Troy was staying at Oak Hill Ranch, a support centre for teens near Bon Accord, Alta. The family is from Lloydminster.
“He progressed a lot through the ranch. There were three stages, and he was supposed to move to the final one shortly.”
Fred said they last saw Troy about two weeks ago, “It was great, he was happy, bubbly.”
September 1, Fred said Troy was with two other teens from the ranch, in either Gibbons or Bon Accord. He said a support worker told them to go back to the ranch, but the group didn’t listen. Somehow the three got to Edmonton.
“We have no idea (what happened),” Fred said.
“(The) three of them left together, we’re not sure how they got (to Edmonton). There was a girl, a guy and him. (Troy) got dropped off at a bus station. He went one way, and the two went back to her house,” Fred said.
Fred said he wasn’t notified Troy was missing by Oak Hill Ranch until the next morning.
“(They said) he’s at a house in Edmonton, he’s safe. We are going to send a worker to pick him up right now. Meanwhile, he was already passed away by nine hours.”
Troy was stabbed outside of the Rosslyn Inn and Suites early Wednesday morning. He was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy later confirmed his death was homicide and that he had a “sharp force injury.”
On Sept. 2, Bradley Michael Edward Almas, 21, was arrested and has since been charged with second-degree murder.
On Friday, an arrest warrant for second-degree murder was issued for a second suspect in connection to the death, for Bradley Clifford Leland, 23, who police say is also known as Bradley Durocher.
Police do not believe the victim knew the two accused.
Fred said he doesn’t know what his son was doing there or who he was with.
“We have no idea,” Fred said. “He’s never done this before, it was the first time he was in Edmonton by himself.
“Anyone with any information, that has seen something, that knows something about it, please come to the police,” Fred said.
Fred also doesn’t understand why Oak Hill Ranch didn’t call police to get them to come back in the first place.
“They should of said, ‘Okay, enough is enough,’ and phone the police. ‘We got three youth here that belong to the ranch, can you please bring them back,'” Fred said.
A spokesperson for Oak Hill Ranch told Global News on Sunday that due to privacy concerns they cannot confirm Troy was taking programs at the ranch.
The spokesperson, who did not give their name, said the staff follow a runaway policy when kids leave the ranch and become absent from care, and staff are good at following that policy.
The spokesperson went on to say if those staying at the ranch get to a place that they are out of eyesight, workers search the community for them and call the police and crisis unit. That is standard practice at the ranch.
The spokesperson also said on a personal note, it’s an absolute tragedy that a young person’s life was taken and that his heart goes out the family.
Troy’s body was released by police on Friday, but Fred said they can’t bring him home to Lloyminster, until Tuesday, because of the holiday weekend.
“So it will be a week of not being able to see him or say goodbye, or nothing to him,” Fred said.
“He turned 15 in April, he had his whole life ahead of him.”