In a small, wooded area behind Columbia Park Elementary, off Pearkes Drive, flowers are scattered on the ground and in the trees. Several notes have been placed on the ground and 'R.I.P. Jake' is written out in sticks.
The memorial is for Jake Gericke, the nine-year-old Revelstoke boy who died following a tragic biking incident in Columbia Park Monday afternoon.
According to a family friend, he crashed after going off a jump in a wooded area off Pearkes Drive. The handlebar of his bicycle punctured his liver. His friends found him about 15 minutes after he got hurt.
He was airlifted to hospital in Kamloops before being taken to Vancouver Children's Hospital. He died there at around 4 a.m. Tuesday morning.
"This sounds like nothing more than a tragic accident from what I'm understanding," said staff Sgt. Jacquie Olsen of the Revelstoke RCMP.
A trust fund has been set up at the Revelstoke TD bank in Jake's name. Simply give the clerk his name if you would like to contribute. As well, on Saturday, the Sangha Bean cafe is hosting a silent auction and also donating 10 per cent of all sales to the fund.
Jake's death is the latest in a tragic spate of young lives lost in Revelstoke this year. In the spring, Derrick Smith, 19, died suddenly. Then in August, Daniel Levesque, 20, died in an alleged murder. Earlier this month, Neil Martin, 25, died in a hiking accident.