There have been five deaths at the Goldstream Trestle between 2016 and 2020, according to the B.C. Coroners Service. “We’re as broken-hearted about this as anyone else,” said Larry Stevenson, CEO of the Island Corridor Foundation. “It’s so bloody tragic.” Stevenson said he has reached out to the RCMP, the Langford fire department, the Ministry of Health and B.C. Parks to form a working group to come up with safety measures for the trestle. “I’m trying to put a group together to come up with solutions to mitigate this risk,” he said, adding that he hopes the discussion can take place as soon as possible.
“It’s not that it was suicide that took Andre’s life, it was depression that took Andre’s life,” said Kirsten Marten, who is speaking on behalf of Andre’s family as they grieve. Last week Marten set up the Searching for Andre Courtemanche Facebook page, which mobilized people across Greater Victoria to search for the missing teen. The family received a call on Jan. 4, three days after Andre was reported missing, about setting up an appointment with a psychiatrist to talk about Andre’s depression, Marten said. By that time it was too late. “It’s so heartbreaking that they had to wait that long and they’ve been fighting so hard to get help for Andre,” she said. “The system categorically failed him.”