On the late evening of March 17, 1995, after a spring break party which included copious amounts of alcohol, six teenage boys from Pickering Ontario, left the party. That was the last time they were ever seen. Witnesses and evidence suggest the boys went down to the beach looking for adventure. Once there, they may have stolen a four-meter imitation Boston Whaler motorboat and a three-wheeled paddle boat from separate marinas on Frenchman’s Bay. Then, it is believed, they headed out for a joyride on the cold, icy waters of the lake without life jackets. Before they left at around 12:50 a.m. on Friday, the boys told a friend they were going to “goof around” on a boat.The boys were all students and friends at a local high school. They included: Jay Boyle, Michael Cummins, Daniel Higgins and Chad Smith, Robbie Rumboldt and Jamie Lefebvre.
The only “evidence” of the boys fate included: at 1:48 a.m. a surveillance camera caught three of the boys, Michael, Jamie and Robbie, entering East Shore Marina; somewhere between 2:30 and 3 a.m. some local residents heard the sound of a motor boat out on the lake; and, finally, the next morning, two boats were reported stolen from two marinas.
The police believe the boats capsized and hypothermia gripped the boys within minutes. The boys were first reported missing by worried girlfriends on Friday. The police did not treat their concerns seriously until Saturday afternoon, when they connected the boys to the missing boats.
By 2 p.m. Saturday – 36 hours after the boys were last seen – a massive search was underway. Durham police were joined by the Toronto police marine unit, theCoast Guard, Hercules C-130 aircraft and a helicopter from the air-sea rescue unit at Canadian Forces Base Trenton. They found nothing. Thousands of volunteers from across southern Ontario then joined the hunt. But no bodies. No boats. No pieces of clothing. The only item found on the lake was a gas can belonging to the Boston Whaler.
What happened to the boys? Why was no personal evidence of their fate ever found? Was there some sort of pact between the boys? Was there foul play? Did the boys actually die or was there an elaborate plot to just disappear? These questions and many more have never been answered in the last 14 years.
An what of the location? The East Shore Marina is adjacent to the Pickering Nuclear Facility. To get into Lake Ontario from Frenchman’s Bay, the boys would have to literally pass by the plant.
The Lost Boys of Pickering is truly a Mystery of Canada.
Thanks to Ruben Benmergui for bringing this story to my attention.
Npc
So let’s say some drunk kids unknowingly take a boat from a marina that has some “product” on it. The marina / owners can’t call the cops cuz of the “product” so they go out looking for it themselves, find it, take care of business, deliver the boat to the destination in the US, trash or sell off the boat, and lay low. Too far fetched?
Andrea F
I work at said nuclear plant and the boys wouldn’t have gone past it on their way to the beach. I don’t remember if they had access to a car or were walking, but either way, they’d have to be sightseeing to actually drive past the plant. They’d definitely see it and at night it’s lit up so would look interesting, but it would be a detour from going to the marina regardless of where in Pickering they started.
Does anyone know where the party was, which neighbourhood? Westshore or Bay Ridges are in the back of my head, but I don’t know why.
And yeah the intake channels would’ve drowned anyone but also messed up the plant and that didn’t happen.
Steven Habeth
With today’s technology, we might be able to find the boat that they were joyriding in somewhere out in the lake. If they can find the Avro Arrow models, they should be able to find the boat.
Mike Harvey
The hardest thing as one of the volunteers working with the Coast Guard Auxiliary searching up and don the coastline all the way to Whitby and back day in and day out, was always having hope, just to return back to the docks with not a shred of evidence to help find these boys.
Even after some time that a body is under water and starts to decompose, the gases of a body will cause the person to float back up to the top and possibly even go along the currents towards shore.. No one has ever been found anywhere! One of our earliest theories was the water intakes and discharge area of the Pickering Power plant as it was a forbidden place to enter. Did the boys find their way into there, but again, even a piece of clothing would have been found.
Mike Sneddon
This in reference to the 6 missing boys in Pickering.Hello bruce my name is mike I have some information on the three wheeled water bike . Can you send me a phone # and I will call you back to tell you what I ve found
Estelle
Hi Mike,
Have you managed to reach Mr Ricketts? If not, he’s on FB.
Damion Spencer
Hey mike my name is damion i was wondering what information you have on the water tricycle? I have not been able to find any information about it. I learned of this case just a few days ago and have been thinking of it constantly. like why was the report from the hercules C-130 about a sinking ship just under the surface not followed up on? 6 people either lost their lives to an accident or there was foul play out on the water.
Shannon
As a close friend of the boys, I want to thank you for keeping their memory alive. In 2 days it will mark the 22nd Anniversary of their disappearance. Not a day goes by that they are not thought of and missed.