Xbox runaway found dead

A Canadian boy who ran away from home after his parents confiscated his Xbox has been found dead in a cornfield.

The body of 15-year-old Brandon Crisp was found after weeks of searching areas near his home in Barrie, Ontario.

He had left home on his mountain bike on October 13 after arguing with his parents over his online play of hyper-realistic war game Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare on his Xbox 360.

Local businesses and Xbox 360 Microsoft put up a C$50,000 reward to help find the runaway.

Police received over 1000 tips.

A Facebook group numbering 22,000 dedicated to finding Crisp was flooded with condolence messages when police announced the body had been found.

After he fled home, snow and cold weather led emergency services to conduct massive ground searches of surrounding areas. The efforts were unsuccessful, with a group of hunters informing police when they found the body in a cornfield adjacent to the search headquarters.

Father Steve Crisp told the Globe and Mail newspaper that his son's behaviour had deteriorated since he started playing the game on Xbox Live. He started wagging school and stealing money, Crisp said.

"This had become his identity, and I didn't realise how in-depth this was until I took his Xbox away,' he told the newspaper. "That's like cutting his legs off.'

Crisp also said that video games taking over kids' lives was "an issue that hits every parent out there."

This article originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald - http://www.nzherald.co.nz