Memorial concert helps sister bury long-missing brother with parents

Melissa (Verbeek) Godwin waited 38 years to learn what happened to her missing brother, Bradley Verbeek. On Sunday, a free memorial concert in Fort Erie raised $1,391.05 toward the roughly $11,000 she needs to bury him with their parents in London, Ontario.

The Trip, a Tragically Hip cover band, staged the concert on September 27 at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 71 hall in Fort Erie. Godwin said the money would pay to move their parents into a new grave for three people with a new plaque.

“Unfortunately, I found out recently that they will not disinter my parents and put my brother into their grave,” said Godwin.

Both of their parents died without learning what happened to Bradley.

John Genet, the band’s lead singer, said he wanted to do more than chip in a few dollars when he saw the fundraiser on Facebook, since Godwin, a Fort Erie Radio employee, had supported the band from its start.

“I reached out to the guys and said, ‘What do you think about a benefit show?’ Everybody came right back immediately,” said Genet.

Branch 71 donated its hall, and Grumps Catering pledged 20 per cent of its food sales at the concert to the fundraiser.

Bradley was 19 when he walked away from his uncle’s London home in December 1987 without his belongings or identification.

He died as a passenger in a motorcycle crash at Harbord and St. George streets in Toronto on May 12, 1988. No one could identify him at the time, and he was buried as an unknown man.

Ontario Provincial Police received new information in 2025 suggesting Bradley may have died in the crash. DNA analysis confirmed his identity this year, and police notified his family on June 16.

Benner Funeral Services in Fort Erie retrieved Bradley’s remains from Toronto in July and cremated them at a discounted cost of about $500.

Godwin said she spoke publicly about Bradley’s case to urge families of other missing people to keep searching for answers.

“I just don’t want people to give up hope,” said Godwin. “I never gave up hope, and I’m back with him after 38 years, so I’m pretty lucky that way.”

A GoFundMe launched by Godwin’s cousin, Becky Thompson, remains open to help cover the burial costs.

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