Mr. Speaker, on March 22, tragedy hit southern Manitoba and captured the attention of many Canadians. It was on this day that little Chase Martens wandered away from his home and did not return. Like so many others, I prayed that Chase would come home to his parents, Destiny Turner and Thomas Martens, and his siblings, safe and sound. Sadly, this did not happen and his body was discovered in a creek four days after he went missing.
All of our hearts go out to his family and the community of Austin and the surrounding areas. I know we are all grateful to the police officers and firefighters who were first on the scene. It was so amazing to see hundreds of Manitobans from Portage la Prairie and across the province who came to look for little Chase. Although many of them did not know him, they felt like Chase could have been their own son or grandson.
There is no silver lining in the loss of Chase Martens, only the reminder to hold our own children a little closer and treasure the short time that we have together.