‘We want him home’ Family of missing fisherman devastated as the search to bring him home continues

Zelda added that her son was ready to be a grandfather, as his eldest daughter is pregnant.

“He was a great dad; he was the best dad,” she said.

Dustin was reported missing at 1:45 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 7, and after extensive air, water, and land search efforts, he has yet to be found.

“He’s proud to be Sts’ailes. I always told him, ‘You’re Musqueam too’. He laughed at me,” Zelda said, fondly of her son. “He said, ‘I’m Sts’ailes, I’m Sts’ailes’.”

Zelda and her husband, Joe Williams, along with other family members, were vacationing in Hawaii when they received the heartbreaking phone call from their nephew.

“We got a call in Hawaii. I think it was just before 11:30 p.m. Hawaii time,” dad Joe said as he wept bitterly. “And my nephew called me, and he said, ‘Bubba went underwater. We’re looking for him. All the fishermen have come to look for him’.”

Joe said his son was fishing with one of his best friends when he fell out of the boat.

“His friend was running down the beach, trying to talk to him, and it sounded like he never got a response,” he said. “Telling him, ‘Swim this way, come this way’.”

It was dark, and Dustin and his friend never made contact again after the boat capsized.

“It sounds like the net was out when he fell out of the boat; he never came up,” he said.

Zelda remarked that Musqueam Chief Wayne Sparrow and Sts’ailes Chief Ralph Leon assured the family that the search was not going to stop until Dustin was found.

“Wayne had said, ‘We’re not going to stop until we find Zelda’s son’,” she said. “It gave us hope.”

Elder Dona Point-Grant, who was with Dustin’s parents consoling them, expressed her gratitude for everyone involved and invested in bringing him home.

“I would just like to thank all the people that are helping, searching for my grand-nephew,” she said. “There are a lot of prayers that are going out. Everybody that’s going out on the boat to search is taking time out of their lives to search for Dustin. We really appreciate that.”

Zelda said her two nieces, Leanne Joe and Kacie Julian, along with other family and friends, are at the river, committed to finding their cousin.

“I want to be at the river, but I—,” mom Zelda said through tears, unable to finish the sentence. “I want to be at the river, but knowing that our nieces are there gives us a sense of comfort.”

Image: L. Gomes / PML / Leanne Joe, Dustin’s cousin.

She added that the prayers from Musqueam and the prayers from Sts’ailes helped bring the family a sense of peace and comfort through this time.

“The message from Wayne Sparrow and Chief Ralph was moving,” she said. “Those were prayers for our family, and we received those prayers, those prayer songs, to help us get through, and that was important to us.”

The mother, hopeful for her son’s return, said the family is sending prayers and love to the fishermen, especially the ones who were with her son when the accident happened.

“Especially those fishermen, we want them to know that our prayers and love are with them. We want to send strength and prayers to those fishermen, especially Roy—he’s devastated,” she said.

According to family, Dustin was last seen wearing a dark hoodie and jogging pants. He is an experienced fisherman but not a strong swimmer. Mission SAR recovered his boat.

Concluding the interview, dad Joe said he only wants one thing.

“We want him home; we want them to find him,” he said.

Image: L. Gomes / PML / Dustin’s family have been keeping watch for him at Island 22, traditional territory of the Pil’alt Tribes.

by Laurice Gomes

‘We want him home’ Family of missing fisherman devastated as the search to bring him home continues

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