Family, community remember slain teen Dustin Bird, 17
Family members and people from the Lac La Ronge Indian Band are remembering Dustin Bird, the 17-year-old who was shot to death on the reserve Wednesday.
"He was really well liked by everyone. He was always helping and humorous and just a really ... all-around person and just always helping out," said Tammy Cook-Searson, chief of the First Nation.
Cook-Searson says Bird was well-liked by his teachers and fellow students in the school.
"He was on the honour roll and he was always ready and willing to help his family, especially his grandmother," she said.
Bird's grandmother, Janet Venne, said her grandson enjoyed athletics, including jogging, working out and playing football. He was also kind and helpful with cleaning chores and chopping wood.
"[He was] always singing," she added. "Every day he would be singing."
She said he had plans to become an electrician and possibly work with SaskPower.
She said the teen was dating but he was cautious about the relationship.
"He said to me, kokum, I'm going to graduate," Venne said. "I'm not going to have babies yet until I find myself a good job. Then I'll have a family."
Dozens of his friends also paid their respects on Bird's Facebook page.
"May you shine with the brightest stars and dance around us with the Northern lights," one friend wrote. "You've left a huge hole on this earth ... May you rest peacefully."
A day after the shooting and abduction incident, RCMP reported they had located the suspect, Jonas Budd, in the community of Sturgeon Landing southeast of La Ronge. As of Thursday night, RCMP said they had been in contact with Budd, but he was not yet in custody.
Police believe that after shooting Bird early Wednesday morning, Budd abducted his former stepdaughter, 17, who was also Bird's girlfriend, from her home on the reserve.
Police declared an Amber Alert in the case, but it was cancelled several hours later when the girl was found safe, about 400 kilometres away near the border between Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
