Vancouver Sun

Family members describe close relationsh­ip with victims

- JAMES KELLER

When the Queen of the North passenger ferry sank off the coast of northern B. C. seven years ago, Brittni Foisy expected her father, Gerald, who was travelling on the ship with his common- law wife, would waste no time picking up the phone to let her know he was safe.

After all, Gerald, who lived in 108 Mile House, would call his daughters in Penticton several times a week, making sure to always visit on special occasions such as birthdays and graduation­s, and sometimes for no reason at all. The last such visit was just a week earlier.

But the phone never rang, and before long it became clear Gerald and his spouse, Shirley Rosette, were missing.

“( Our relationsh­ip was) very close, warm, and he told both my sister and I on a number of occasions that we were his world and he would do anything for us,” Brittni, 22, told a B. C. Supreme Court jury on Tuesday at a crew member’s criminal negligence trial.

“I was shocked when I hadn’t heard from him right after the accident. I knew something was wrong.”

Gerald Foisy and Rosette have not been seen since the Queen of the North struck an island and sank in the early hours of March 22, 2006. They were presumed drowned, and one of the ferry’s crew members, navigating officer Karl Lilgert, is now on trial for criminal negligence causing their deaths.

Lilgert’s trial began in January, but until now the proceeding­s have mostly focused on the first- hand accounts of survivors and on Lilgert’s actions, not the lives of the two missing passengers.

Tuesday’s testimony marks the first time either of the Foisy daughters have publicly spoken about their father or the disaster that left him missing as the Crown told the victims’ stories while also attempting to prove beyond a doubt that the couple did, in fact, die that night.

Brittni held her composure during her brief testimony as Lilgert watched from a table beside one of his lawyers.

Court heard that her parents separated when she was seven years old. Her father stayed in 108 Mile House, while she, her younger sister Morgan, and their mother moved to Penticton.

Several years later, Gerald met Rosette. By 2006, the couple were engaged and living together. In the weeks before the Queen of the North sinking, Gerald and Rosette had moved into an apartment in nearby 100 Mile House while they prepared to sell Gerald’s house in 108 Mile House. Despite the physical distance, Brittni and Morgan, who is now 19, remained close with their father, the court heard. Brittni said she and her sister were also fond of Rosette and her two sons.

“She’s my step- mom,” said Brittni. “I call ( Rosette’s children) my stepbrothe­rs to this day.”

When Rosette disappeare­d, her two sons, Brandon and Brent, were living in an apartment with their cousin in 100 Mile House. They were living on their own to avoid commuting from 108 Mile House for school, Brandon told the court Tuesday.

Brandon said he and his brother were very close to their mother, having last heard from her several days before the Queen of the North sank.

Four relatives testified Tuesday, and each was asked whether it was possible Gerald and Rosette might have survived the sinking without making any contact.

“If she was alive today, would she have called you and returned to you after the ferry sinking?” asked Crown lawyer Dianne Wiedemann. “Most definitely,” replied Brandon. Tuesday’s testimony marked the end of the Crown’s case against Lilgert, whose trial has heard from dozens of witnesses including passengers, crew members and experts.

The jury has yet to hear whether the defence plans to call any witnesses. Lilgert’s lawyers aren’t obliged to call evidence, nor are they required to reveal their plans in advance.

Lilgert pleaded not guilty to two counts of criminal negligence causing death.

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