Eli was a rambunctious kid. He was quick, crazed and energized. His father taught him how to skateboard at the age of three and by the age of six, he was already dropping into bowls at the skatepark and landing kickflips.

Eli had blonde hair and a smile that seared; it was one of the characteristics his father and others always loved about Eli害羞草研究所攈e was always smiling.

Like many children, Eli sought freedom and exploration and in the three months before he was fatally stabbed in downtown Kelowna, his youthful aching to wander showed parallels with his father害羞草研究所檚.

害羞草研究所淗is whole life, everybody that has ever known him has said, 害羞草研究所楾hat害羞草研究所檚 your little mini-me right there,害羞草研究所櫤π卟菅芯克鶟 said Robyn-lain Beauregard, 37, father of the late 16 year old.

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As a kid growing up in Arthur, Ont.,害羞草研究所揳 town with under 2,500 residents and a couple dozen streets害羞草研究所擝eauregard wanted out. So at around age 15, he left town, dropped out of school and began hitchhiking to nearby cities in Ontario.

In the process, he had become homeless and stayed that way for about a year and a half until he was housed in Toronto around the age of 17.

害羞草研究所淚 was bored, I was always at home, I wanted freedom.害羞草研究所�

He met Eli害羞草研究所檚 mother-to-be in Toronto while they attended school together. When Beauregard was 18, Eli害羞草研究所檚 mother became pregnant and Beauregard recovered and transitioned into a father figure for young Eli.

A vagrant of sorts, Beauregard learnt a lot while he was street-ridden. It was something he wished Eli would learn from and not have to go through himself.

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害羞草研究所淲e would come to Kelowna every now and then and I would tell him that we were just sight-seeing and as we were going, I害羞草研究所檇 see things that I hoped he would never be involved with,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淎nd I made sure he knew.害羞草研究所�

But his father害羞草研究所檚 subtle lessons and stories wasn害羞草研究所檛 enough for Eli. After all, he was Beauregard害羞草研究所檚 害羞草研究所渕ini-me.害羞草研究所�

Eli moved into his mother害羞草研究所檚 house in Kelowna just before Christmas in 2018, after an extended trip east-bound from Calgary with his father. However, it served more as reverse transitional housing, landing Eli on the street through self-autonomy rather than latent parenting.

害羞草研究所淗e started disappearing a little bit more every day, then he started not coming home at night,害羞草研究所� Beauregard called.

Both mother and father reached out to Eli and spoke quite often. As Beauregard explained, Eli was free to roam where he pleased. If he wanted to stay with his mother, he could. If he wanted to stay with his father, great. If he wanted to wander, so be it. But he found a sense of home on the street.

READ MORE: RCMP search for missing Kelowna man

害羞草研究所淭here害羞草研究所檚 a reason why somebody would choose the street over a perfectly good home,害羞草研究所� Beauregard said. 害羞草研究所淔or my son, it was following rules at home, going to school, having to get up every day at a certain time害羞草研究所� that just wasn害羞草研究所檛 my kid. He was never, ever cool with that.害羞草研究所�

From the time when Eli first went to school, he was different. Beauregard said he couldn害羞草研究所檛 make friends or didn害羞草研究所檛 want to make friends. And when he lived on the street for the three-odd months that preceded his death, he made more friends than he might害羞草研究所檝e had throughout his whole childhood.

害羞草研究所淭hat might害羞草研究所檝e been the original draw to downtown, was that, 害羞草研究所業 get to go and hang out with my friends that I actually want to hang out with,害羞草研究所櫤π卟菅芯克鶟 Beauregard said.

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The group of strangers that Eli morphed into his circle reminded Beauregard of the people that helped him through his days on the street as a youth as well. From friends to shelters and food banks, Eli was known and cared for.

害羞草研究所淲hen I was in that lifestyle, I had a lot of people that helped me,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淚 learned that there was a lot of people doing that for Eli.害羞草研究所�

A child who subconsciously had a knack for rebellion, an anomaly separated from the bulk; for Eli, it was less about being retrogressive but rather of fulfilling a part of his life in which he felt must be, according to his father. He was depicted as a stand-alone figure with blonde hair and a smile that seers.

害羞草研究所淗e was a handful right from the get-go and that害羞草研究所檚 just who he was.害羞草研究所�

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