Brookston deals with hard blows

These are hard times for the Brookston area. A young man who grew up there, age 16, was shot and killed in Duluth earlier this month. A young mother of five was found dead after going missing last week, and a 15-year-old boy died of unknown causes Friday.

Bryan "Bear" Bosto, who manages the Brookston Community Center, said the community is mourning the losses. He hopes people will come together, and seek help from the grief counselors available at the community center.

"There were three tragic events in 10 days," Bosto said, who agreed to speak only as a community member. "I don't think they were related, but we all have to deal with it. Our kids grew up with both boys. People need to talk about it, and seek out help and people to talk to."

There are still more questions than answers at this point, but police and others have provided some information.

After at least two days of searching by volunteers and family, the body of Wahbinmigisi "Pennie" Robertson, 31, was found in a heavily wooded part of the Brookston area Saturday. On Monday, the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office issued a press release stating that the Midwest Medical Examiner's office had determined Robertson died by hanging.

"The manner of death is pending at this time," the press release stated, adding that additional investigation is currently underway and toxicology results will take some time to be returned. "During the autopsy, law enforcement investigators and the Medical Examiner found no signs of trauma, signs of assault, or homicidal violence."

Sgt. Wade Rasch said it was probably a suicide but the Fond du Lac Police Department and the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office were still working to verify a few things. Services for Robertson were held in Sandstone on Wednesday. Robertson was a member of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe and originally from Hinckley.

Bosto remembered Ausineese Aubin Dufault, who died from a gunshot wound to the head on May 27. Dufault had been charged with aggravated first-degree robbery after allegedly shooting at a female acquaintance and causing a minor injury outside an apartment building about a month before his death, not far from where he was found just before 3 a.m. May 27. Police have not said if the two incidents are related.

Bosto said people might look at Dufault, see his many tattoos and assume he was a bad kid.

On Facebook, Bosto remembered a boy who could get angry or frustrated when things didn't go his way, but also someone who laughed often, especially as a young child. "Many people cared for you, loved you, and maybe they just didn't know how to handle a feisty independent kid like Auso," he posted on the day of Dufault's funeral. "Today is already too late to show our love for you."

Bosto also remembered BJ Shabaiash, the 15-year-old boy who died Friday, as a "gentle kind soul."

According to a press release from the Cloquet police department, the police and the Cloquet Area Fire District responded to a Cloquet home Friday morning for a male with shallow breathing. Life-saving efforts where performed; however, it was determined the person was deceased.

Cloquet police commander and acting chief Carey Ferrell said Tuesday that the cause of death is still pending, and under investigation by the Medical Examiner's Office and law enforcement. He stressed that there were no visible signs of trauma and the police do not believe the public is at risk.

"[Any autopsy results] won't be public while it's an active investigation," Ferrell added.

Services for Shabaiash were held Tuesday, June 4.

The KwePack, a group of women runners on the reservation, have also scheduled various healing walk/runs throughout the communities in and around the reservation. The first run starts at noon Saturday, June 8 at the Brookston Community Center.

A community care dinner and discussion also is scheduled from 5-8 p.m. Friday, June 7, at the Fond du Lac Cloquet Community Center.

"Let the lesson of these young men and women sink in that they are not alone," Bosto wrote, encouraging people to not point fingers of blame at each other but to come together instead. "They are not. We, as a community need to remind them that our children matter, that they are loved and we are here to listen."