BOSTON — Family members held a candlelight vigil for Kyzr Willis Wednesday night, just one day after he drowned while at a city-run day camp.
Kyzr’s name was spelled out in candles at Malibu Beach in Dorchester, where his family and friends gathered to honor his memory.
"We did a candle light vigil, this was his favorite place and we used to come and look at the planes fly over,” Kyzr’s father Ralph Toney said.
An inside look from John Monahan at the candlelight vigil to honor Kyzr:
Even at the vigil though, family members struggled to figure out how he got separated from the watchful eyes of the camp counselor.
"How does a 7 year old kid wander off from an 18 staff place? They might have had too many kids,” Kyzr’s grandfather, Ralph Jackson, said.
Kyzr’s father said he’s glad the mayor visited and thankful the program director at the community center was placed on leave.
"To tell you the truth, he didn't wander off nowhere...he's not the type of kid to wander off nowhere,” Toney said.
Family members say they are also concerned that Kyzr’s nine-year-old niece was the person who notified them about his disappearance.
"We got a call from a nine-year-old saying that Kyzr was missing before the counselor called us,” Joseph said.
To make matters worse, family members were not able to see Kyzr when they visited the morgue, but they were told he was not recognizable.
“The worst thing you can tell me [is] we lost our baby...we still want to see him,” Jackson said.