The search for answers about the late ‘River’ Dan Newlove
Sixteen years ago, a man named Dan Newlove died alone in a trailer in East City. At the time, he was estranged from his family and drinking to ease his pain.
His death came onto my radar via an email from a concerned citizen. As then-editor of Peterborough This Week, I usually co-ordinated the coverage of the departure of prominent citizens. Yet, we wanted to highlight how people in poverty lived — and died — too.
This loss struck me as a story worth telling, so I gathered as many facts about him as possible. In many ways, he became a symbol of the other hurting people who turned to drugs or alcohol to cope.
Some stories just seem to haunt you and this one certainly does.
A few years later, Dan’s daughter found the story online — the only trace of the father she never knew.
She learned that he earned his nickname, River, while living on a riverbank.
She cried as she read about how he died on the eve of his 51st birthday. The details in the article reassured her that he had friends, even though his struggles broke her heart.
She was grateful to have this chapter — no matter how sad — captured and not forgotten.
Last week, her daughter reached out to me. She and her mother want to get more answers about Dan’s final days “for a little peace of mind.”
So, I put my reporter hat back on and tried to track down the people who saw Dan last: Cheryl Guthrie and Dave Alderice. They had shared dinner with him then offered him a warm place to sleep as long as he didn’t drink.
However, he chose to imbibe in a trailer instead. On a cold night, the heaters in the trailer didn’t offer him enough warmth and he died overnight.
Ultimately, the coverage highlighted an ongoing debate over why shelters turn away people who selfmedicate. Brock Mission simply didn’t have the staff capacity to supervise unpredictable behaviour, although it takes in intoxicated people as long as they didn’t pose a risk to other clients.
Regardless, try to imagine a family whose loved one has disappeared without any answers. In Dan’s case, he came to Peterborough to escape the violence of the streets of Toronto. No one there knew where he went until after he died.
Around the same time, a university professor called the newsroom in a hopeful panic after seeing a photo of a young man who looked like his son on our front page. He desperately wanted to bring him to the safety of his home.
This memory stuck with me due to the sadness and desperation of his voice. Further, it proved that any home could lead to a person going astray. You simply don’t know what demons drag people into street life.
Never assume you know why they are there. And don’t assume that panhandlers are homeless; often, they are people trying earnestly to pay their rent.
Dan’s sad story serves as a reminder that every person is complex. He wavered between being sweet and volatile. One day, he would clean up a neighbour’s yard in exchange for a hot meal; the next day, he would shoplift from stores and defecate in public places.
With that said, his daughter and granddaughter would love to learn more about his final days. I would be happy to connect them with anyone who can help. Please email LoisETuffin@gmail.com if you can help.
You simply don’t know what demons drag people into street life, writes Lois Tuffin.