Memorial held for couples who vanished at Bras d'Or Lake
An early-morning ceremony took place in both Big Pond, N.S., and Eskasoni on Wednesday to remember four adults who crossed the Bras d'Or Lake in a boat 80 years ago.
On March 30, 1936, Noel Marshall, Judina Marshall, Joseph Michael and Kate Michael, who was pregnant, all left Eskasoni in a boat headed across to Big Pond.
The women, who were sisters, were planning to sell baskets and flowers; the men were going to spear eels. It was the last time anyone in Eskasoni saw them. It's presumed they died, but their bodies were never found and no one was ever held responsible for their deaths. The two couples left behind 14 children.
Healing and forgiveness
Those at the memorial said the ceremony was about forgiveness, healing and returning their spirits to Eskasoni.
"I would like them to just continue their journey so we could all have peace," said Georgina Doucette, a niece of the couples who went missing.
"Their spirits are here, there's no doubt about that," said Joe Michael, a grandson of Kate and Joseph Michael.
'Somebody did something'
Michael is a former RCMP officer and he investigated his grandparent's cold case for more than three years. He said he's now confident in his knowledge of how the couples died.
Michael told the families, but has chosen not to make the details public.
"Somebody did something over there. Can I say murdered them? No, I don't want to say that, but they made a tragic end," he said.
Michael disputed previous rumours that the couples drowned or left town. He also said holes in their boat were cut down into it from the top with an axe — not the bottom by rocks.
'No more speculations'
Georgina Doucette said the information is important.
"It will make a difference in our stories now and we can tell our children, no more speculations, we know what happened," she said.
Throughout the day there was also a lot of talk about the importance of forgiveness.
"You know all these years of hearing stories ... It puts not a good feeling in your heart, but now, I think I can let go," said Doucette.
Monument coming
Michael said he's finished investigating now and is satisfied with what he's uncovered.
"It gave me relief, it gave me comfort and it gave me something that can never be measured," he said.
Michael said they plan to erect a monument this March in memory of the couples and the fetus, which they've named Ansale'wit — Angel in Mi'kmaq.
