3 Cape Bretoners were hit and killed by a train in Maine in 1970.
asserted
Bretoners → hit → 1970
Some want the case reopened
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case → want → ?
'Justice has not been served,' says Richard Novak, a brother of one of the deceased
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Novak → serve → deceased
Every morning, 78-year-old Richard Novak hears a passing train from his apartment in Bedford, N.S., and thinks of his late brother, Kenny.
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Novak → hear → brother
Kenny, 15, was one of three Cape Breton youth who inexplicably ended up in Maine in July 1970 after deviating from a planned camping trip in Cape Breton Highlands National Park.
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who → end → Park
Kenny, David Burrows, 17, and Terry Burt, 20, were in sleeping bags on a rail track west of the border town of Houlton, Maine, when they were struck by a train early on the morning of July 10.
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they → strike → July
Novak, who has Parkinson's disease and is in failing health, has the same thought every morning as he lies in bed and hears the train.
"The first person I think of [is] Kenny, Terry and David, and what it would be like under that train and why would you choose the tracks?" said Novak.
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Novak → have → tracks
The deaths were ruled accidental, with the Sydney-area youth believed to be asleep at the time of the collision.
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youth → rule → collision
Novak would like to see the case reopened, even though documentation from the time is sparse.
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documentation → like → time
"What I'm trying to do is unite with the people from Maine and clear this up once and for all, so we can put it to rest and have some peace," he said.
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he → try → peace
At the time of the incident, Novak was living in Ontario.
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Novak → live → Ontario
"I've never felt so much pain in my life," he said of learning of the deaths.
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he → feel → deaths
Novak said Kenny was the youngest of six boys and one girl in the family.
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Kenny → say → family
The 5-7, 145-pound teen with black hair collected comic books, loved music, skating and swimming, and had been studying Latin for three years.
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teen → collect → years
Novak believes the group may have been going to a concert in the U.S.
uncertain
group → believe → U.S.
It's a case with many unanswered questions, but here's what's known.
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what → know → questions
On Friday, July 3, 1970, Kenny Novak and Burt were driven to the Highlands by Novak's mother, she told the Bangor Daily News, according to a July 19, 1970, article.
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she → drive → article
She told the paper she believed Burrows joined them on July 5.
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Burrows → tell → July
The three were last seen in Ingonish, N.S., on July 6, the newspaper reported, citing the RCMP.
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newspaper → see → RCMP
It's believed they hitchhiked to the U.S. and entered illegally on Thursday, July 9, from Woodstock, N.B., which Houlton borders.
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Houlton → believe → which
There was no record of youths matching their description crossing officially that date, the Bangor paper reported in its July 11-12 edition.
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paper → be → edition
The newspaper also reported that a border patrolman tried to stop three hitchhiking youth in Houlton, but they fled.
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they → report → Houlton
The patrolman also tried to find the youths later using an unmarked vehicle, but was unsuccessful.
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patrolman → try → vehicle
The business was closed and he was hanging around outside with some friends.
"Those three come along and were walking, and they stopped and talked to us and they asked us how they could get to [Interstate] 95," Hunt told CBC News.
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Hunt → close → News
Interstate 95 is a highway that runs from Maine to Florida.
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that → run → Florida
How the trio ended up at the rail line
Hunt said he didn't usually pick up hitchhikers, but the trio seemed pleasant.
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trio → end → hitchhikers
And while the original plan was to drop them off a few kilometres away at the nearest spot on the interstate, Hunt let it slip that they were going to be travelling to his hometown of Island Falls, Maine, almost 50 kilometres from Houlton.
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they → drop → Houlton
The trio asked if they could be taken there, but Hunt and his friend, Mike York, said that wouldn't make sense as there wouldn't be much traffic for hitchhiking options.
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that → ask → options
"Well, is there any place we can get on the railroad tracks?" asked one of the Cape Breton youth.
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one → get → youth
Hunt knew of a place called Smyrna Mills about halfway between Island Falls and Houlton that fit the bill.
"
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that → know → bill
So that's what we did.
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we → do → what
We stopped, let them out … and it was only like 50 feet to the railroad tracks and they went to the railroad tracks and we left," said Hunt.
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Hunt → stop → tracks
He believes they wanted to walk the tracks so they could stay out of sight.
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they → believe → sight
Besides the circumstances, the timing stands out for Hunt because he had to drop off his friend York for a midnight shift at the gas station where he worked.
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he → stand → station
Hunt later learned that after they left the dairy bar, a border patrol agent showed up asking the people who remained outside whether they had seen the three youth.
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they → learn → youth
The people who were still there were friends of his and relayed that detail to him.
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who → relay → him
(It's unclear if this was separate from the second effort made by the border patrol agent to find the youth, as referenced in the July 11-12 Bangor Daily News.)
uncertain
this → make → News
Hunt and York, who is no longer alive, were the last people known to have spoken with the trio.
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who → know → trio
The day of the crash
The following day around 7 a.m., a 19-car train weighing about 725 tonnes was headed toward Houlton when it rounded a sharp turn.
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it → weigh → turn
The engineer spotted what he thought was a rubber raft on the tracks, the July 11-12 edition of the Bangor Daily News reported.
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edition → spot → News
…and 47 more, not listed.
The Aporia
