Two weeks ago, 15-year-old Canadian Xbox gamer Brandon Crisp vanished from his home. My series Drama Llama previously linked to a GamePolitics article in which Brandon's father blamed his son's gaming addiction for his disappearance:

"He left because we took his Xbox away," said Steve Crisp, Brandon's father. He says his son was losing sleep because he spent so much time playing Call of Duty, a World War II-themed shooting game. "This was his addiction."

...Although police have determined that he hasn't logged onto his Xbox since he left, they are still trying to track down anyone he might have met playing Call of Duty.

"My personal feeling is that he's met someone online through this game," said Steve. "As a parent, you fear the worst when you don't hear anything for seven days."

Brandon's parents had tried to limit his Xbox use, but it didn't work, prompting them to take the console away.

"(Kids) play these games and it becomes an addiction. It becomes their whole life," he said.

As the story developed, the "game addiction" meme was picked up by other outlets as well as the police. While all of us here at Gamervision will surely agree that online gaming is not a wretched hive of scum and villainy as some parents and news anchors (and recently disbarred lawyers) like to make it out to be, it does seem apparent that the bulk of Brandon's social interaction occurred online. While a physical manhunt is going on, police are also investigating Brandon's game-based contacts:

This morning's Toronto Star reports that the cyber crimes unit of the Ontario Provincial Police will attempt to identify members of Brandon's Xbox Live Call of Duty 4 clan. Barrie P.D. spokesman Sgt. Dave Goodbrand told the Sun that Microsoft has agreed to breach its normal privacy protocols in the hunt for the missing 15-year-old:

"Brandon's dad made a plea to Microsoft. This is an exigent circumstance, where it's a kid you're searching for. This isn't the same as other criminal investigations, where you're looking for evidence... [Brandon] was getting good enough that there's a possibility he was expanding into other clans."

In related news, GamePolitics spoke with Sgt. Goodbrand last night and learned that police are not releasing Brandon's Xbox Live gamertag. While the gamertag would give concerned gamers a starting point from which they could explore online resources in the search for Brandon, law enforcement officials fear that the information may be misused. There could also be important investigative reasons. It is not unusual for certain pieces of information to be withheld from the public in major cases.

In addition to releasing gamer details to the police, Microsoft has also matched the Crisps' offer of $25,000 for a total $50,000 reward for information leading to Brandon's safe return. Call it political if you will, considering that the boy's disappearance was most assuredly due to more than just his gaming addiction, but Microsoft's commitment to help in the search cannot be understated.

GamePolitics asks that gamers out there who think they might know Brandon to lend their hand to the search. This might seem unlikely, given the lack of a Gamertag to work with, but the world gaming community has banded together for the cause of good before. Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Barrie Police Department at 705-725-7025 ext. 2160 and/or visit their website, which has additional information.

Visit GamePolitics for more articles relating to the case, updated as more information comes to light.

Cited Articles:

Missing Teen is Call of Duty Player; Dad Blames Game

Microsoft Adds $25K to Missing Gamer Reward Fund

Missing Gamer Search Now Focusing on Xbox Live