It is extremely rare for a crime of any kind to have been committed and absolutely no one, outside of those directly involved with the event, having any knowledge of what happened.
Inevitably, particularly when there have been several people involved in the incident, at least one of them will share some or all of the details of the event with a trusted friend or ally, perhaps just to help unburden their conscience. And then the friend or ally just has to drop a hint to a third party and so it goes.
M’Chigeeng First Nation has recently dealt with the death of an elder, John Panamick, a few weeks after the home where he lived by himself in retirement was invaded in the night and he was beaten senseless by persons unknown.
Was the motive robbery? Who knows. But the fact remains that a man who expected to have every right, just like any of us, to enjoy his retirement years in his M’Chigeeng home is dead. Whether the beating led directly to his death is as yet undetermined, but the coroner’s report which is expected imminently is expected to pronounce on this and so the charges pertaining to Mr. Panamick’s beating and possibly to his death will be amended accordingly.
This is a particularly sad story: a man leaves his community (it would have been called West Bay then) as a young man and goes to the United States where he spends his working life, returning to M’Chigeeng (as his community had been renamed by the time he came back) with the plan of living out his retirement years among his siblings and their children and his friends in ease and enjoyment.
And then this.
Shortly after the beating, but while Mr. Panamick was still in hospital in Sudbury in a comatose state and prior to his death there, a community meeting in M’Chigeeng was called so that members of this tight-knit first nation could express their concern, their rage, and be heard by police and by the chief and council.
Since Mr. Panamick’s attack, a woman living along in M’Chigeeng has also been subject to a home invasion with the perpetrators intending to steal money from her and/or any prescription drugs she may have had for her own use as part of a course of treatment.
She was not harmed as Mr. Panamick was.
But in M’Chigeeng just now, many people who were not used to locking their doors at night are now doing so out of fear and the band council recently announced that, in addition to police patrols, it had taken the extraordinary step of hiring additional and independent security staff to patrol the streets of the community at night.
The steps taken by chief and council are understandable in the circumstances but people in this ordinarily peaceful community in the heart of Manitoulin Island should not have to live, as many of them do just now, in fear.
As previously noted, it is a sure thing that someone will know a little or a lot about Mr. Panamick’s beating; who was there and what was the specific motivation.
For the sake of the good mental health of the people of M’Chigeeng, and so that this unhappy piece of the community’s history can be laid to rest, (as much as this is possible for Mr. Panamick’s family and friends,) and continue to haunt M’Chigeeng for as little time as possible those people who know something about the event must share it with police and do so as soon as possible.
To purposely target an elder, to beat him into unconsciousness to the extent that this may have caused his death and then to walk away is unthinkable and the palpable fear in the community serves to underscore how this event is threatening changes that will not be for the betterment of its citizens.
This is one of those times when a call to the police Crimestoppers tip line is vitally important to the wellbeing of the community. If you know something about the crime or the perpetrators, or even if you are fairly certain that you do, anonymity is guaranteed to those who offer tips to help police investigations through the Crimestoppers program.
If you are the person who knows something of what went on and who was responsible for John Panamick’s beating, just make the call.
The telephone number is 1-800-222-8477.
