Father denies son involved in B.C. teen's disappearance
Friends say Gavin Arnott was drunk, out of control the night ex-girlfriend went missing
Last Updated: Thursday, July 2, 2009 | 9:13 PM PT
CBC News
Related
Internal Links
- DOCUMENT: Gavin Arnott's firearms prohibition affidavit
- DOCUMENT: Charge Gavin Arnott assaulted Jodi Henrickson
- DOCUMENT: Gavin Arnott's probation order page 1
- DOCUMENT: Gavin Arnott's probabtion order page 2
- VIDEO: Eric Rankin reports: Father says son not involved in B.C. teen's disappearance (Runs 2:52)
- Hunt for missing B.C. teen enters day 11
- Court ordered ex-boyfriend of missing teen to stay away from her
Randy Arnott says his son, Gavin, had nothing to do with his ex-girlfriend's disappearance. (CBC) The father of one of the last people to see a 17-year-old Squamish girl before she went missing on Bowen Island almost two weeks ago says his son had nothing to do with her disappearance.
Jodi Henrickson was last seen around dawn on June 20 on the island, where she had attended several house parties. She was reported missing four days later when she failed to come home to Squamish, approximately 60 km northeast of Bowen on the mainland.
One of the last people who might have seen Henrickson was her former boyfriend, Gavin Arnott.
According to court documents, Arnott, 20, was charged with assaulting Henrickson in April.
The Bowen Island resident entered a guilty plea and was sentenced to 18 months' probation, one of the conditions of which was that he have no contact with Henrickson.
He's not the bad guy, says father
Arnott's father, Randy, said the news has suspicion running rampant on the tiny island northwest of Vancouver.
The situation has gotten so bad, he said, that he and his family no longer feel welcome because of suspicious glares from other locals.
Jodi Henrickson was last seen at a house party on June 20 on Bowen Island. (Facebook) "It feels that we're being looked at and accused, and we've almost been held up in our own house, like, not wanting to go out in the public [because] people are looking at you that your son's the bad guy, which I don't believe he is," he said.
Arnott said the assault is being blown out of proportion.
"Even the original charge was a misdemeanor as much as anything, and they had been getting along since then, so I don't think that the way it's been portrayed is relative to the way it looks."
With the suspicion surrounding the family, Arnott said his son has been staying off the island with a family friend.
"He just doesn't know, but he was the last that saw her, and he's very scared right now."
Arnott said his son admitted he and Henrickson got into a fight the night she disappeared, but the younger Arnott insisted he walked away – and that was the last time he saw her.
Arnott 'a little bit crazy,' says friend
However, friends say the young man was drunk and out of control the night Henrickson went missing.
Derek Sinke (left) and Khole Dallas say speculation is running wild on Bowen Island. (CBC) "[Gavin] almost drove into the house… and we pulled him out of the car and duct taped him to a pole so he couldn't drive anymore," said friend Khole Dallas.
"I've known Gavin my whole life and I don't think he could ever do something like that, but at the same time he is a little bit crazy, I would say. I wouldn't say crazy, but he's different."
Derek Sinke, who attended the same party as Arnott, said the younger Arnott had always been odd.
"You never know what someone's capable of," Sinke said. "He's a little different to start out with, you know, so it kinda adds to speculation on the whole incident."
Sinke said Henrickson's disappearance has put the close-knit community on edge.
Meanwhile, the police search for Henrickson, which included helicopters and ground crews, was called off Thursday. Officials said it would only be resumed if new information came to light.
Share Tools
Latest British Columbia News Headlines
- B.C. premier unhappy with disgraced Mountie's transfer
- B.C. Premier Christy Clark says she is not happy with the RCMP decision to transfer a disgraced Alberta Mountie to the West Coast. more »
- RCMP officer charged in fatal crash
- An RCMP officer has been charged in connection to a late-night fatal collision in Agassiz, B.C., last July. more »
- Video of West Vancouver arson attack released
- Police are asking for the public for help identifying a man who set the home of a former West Vancouver police chief on fire earlier this year. more »
- Missing gun recovered by Vancouver police
- Vancouver police have recovered a handgun lost by one of their officers during a foot chase Wednesday. more »
Top News Headlines
- Everest victim's husband says family not seeking government help
- The husband of a Toronto woman who died trying to climb Mt. Everest on Saturday says his family is not seeking government help to cover the cost of bringing his wife's body home. more »
- B.C. premier unhappy with disgraced Mountie's transfer
- B.C. Premier Christy Clark says she is not happy with the RCMP decision to transfer a disgraced Alberta Mountie to the West Coast. more »
- Henrique's OT goal sends Devils into Stanley Cup final
- The New Jersey Devils will vie for a potential fourth Stanley Cup in franchise history after defeating the New York Rangers in six games in the Eastern final, courtesy of rookie Adam Henrique's goal early in overtime. more »
- Employment Insurance review boards to be scrapped
- The federal government is scrapping two review boards used by people appealing decisions made about their employment insurance. more »
- B.C. premier unhappy with disgraced Mountie's transfer
- Third B.C. salmon farm quarantined
- RCMP officer charged in fatal crash
- Tsunami motorcycle heading to Harley museum
- Missing gun recovered by Vancouver police
- Province considers BYOB in B.C. restaurants
- Summer rescue boat service planned for Vancouver
- Metro Vancouver gas prices match record levels
- Super microscope installed at University of Victoria

