KILDARE CAPES – Sitting in Gordie Getson’s kitchen, Gordie and Stewart share memories of their brother, Moe.
“There was never a dull moment with Moe,” offers Stewart who describes him both as a jokester and someone who would give you the shirt off his back.
“Anytime we needed help, he’d be up to give us a hand.”
“He must’ve traded vehicles six times one day back when he was younger,” chuckles Gordie who said his brother was a “wheeler-dealer.”
They noted Moe loved his nieces and nephews.
Gordie, Stewart and their other brothers and sisters are clinging to their memories as they endure the painstaking wait for Moe to be found. Moe, along with good friend Glen DesRoches, of Tignish, went missing last Tuesday when DesRoches’ boat, the Kyla Anne, suddenly took on water and sank. A third man on the boat, Tanner Gaudet, survived the ordeal.
The family is thankful that he survived and summoned help. Stewart said Tanner recently paid him a visit and shared how Moe kept the crew laughing with stories and jokes throughout the fishing season.
An area resident, checking the North Cape beach, located DesRoches’ body Sunday morning.
“It’s heart-warming to know that the community is standing by us,” said Stewart.
“It brings comfort to the family,” he said, “knowing that the community is out there supporting us and helping us grieve. They know what we’re going through, because they’ve gone through similar situations.”
Sept. 23 is the 22nd anniversary of another boating tragedy that also claimed a life on the North Cape reef.
Gordie also acknowledged the words, messages, food and offers of support by many area residents, including a song and a poem composed about the tragedy, and the many thoughtful messages and images shared on social media.
He says he is proud to be from the Tignish area.
“When something happens, they’re all there. The community is all supporting us big time.”
The brothers are thankful for the search efforts by aircraft and vessels dispatched by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre, the Tignish Fire Department, P.E.I. Ground Search and Rescue, area fishermen and the many people who continue to show up on their own to help with the search.
The brothers admit the waiting is tough, insisting that the missing men needed to be found to bring closure.
“We just keep looking, keep hunting, keep searching, hoping for something, because the family needs closure so badly,” Stewart commented. “This is left wide-open.”
“Since Tuesday, that’s where our life has been. We go down to the beach every day. We come home just long enough to catch a bite and go right back.”
