John Ridsdel, a former mining company executive and journalist who grew up in Yorkton, is being remembered and grieved this week after a Filipino terror group made good on a grisly threat Monday.
鈥淗e was just one of the nicest people,鈥� said Nancy Morrison, a lifelong friend of the Ridsdel family. 鈥淗e had a terrific mind and a lovely sense of humour. He made friends easily and was very well-liked.鈥�
Morrison, a retired Supreme Court of British Columbia judge with deep ties to the Yorkton community remembers a precociously intelligent child and an accomplished man with a passion for the sea.
鈥淛ohn, by the age of 18, was a master mariner,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e could navigate anywhere in the world. His father, Billy, owned a beautiful, 47-foot yacht that they kept in England, so John learned to ocean-sail at a very early age and remained a very dedicated sailor all his life.鈥�
In fact, Ridsdel was on his yacht at a resort marina in the southern Philippines on September 21, 2015 when Abu Sayyaf militants attempted to kidnap a Japanese couple, according to Morrison, Ridsdel; Robert Hall, another Canadian; and Kjartan Sekkingstad, the Norwegian manager of the marina, tried to intervene and were taken hostage along with Marites Flor, Hall鈥檚 Filipino girlfriend. The Japanese couple managed to escape.
Last week, the terrorists issued a video demanding the Philippines government stop military operations against them and threatening to behead one of the male captives if a ransom amounting to approximately $8.1 million Canadian for each of the four hostages was not paid by April 25 at 3 p.m. local time (1 a.m. Saskatchewan time). At approximately 5 a.m. Saskatchewan time, two men on a motorcycle dumped the head of a Caucasian man wrapped in a plastic bag on a street in Jolo City on Jolo Island in the southern Philippines.
Canadian officials later confirmed the victim was Ridsdel. At noon Monday, Saskatchewan time, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a statement condemning the murder from Alberta where the federal Cabinet was on retreat.
鈥淚 am outraged by the news that a Canadian citizen, John Ridsdel, held hostage in the Philippines since September 21, 2015, has been killed at the hands of his captors,鈥� Trudeau said.
鈥淐anada condemns, without reservation, the brutality of the hostage-takers, and this unnecessary death. This was an act of cold-blooded murder and responsibility rests squarely with the terrorist group who took him hostage.鈥�
The prime minister also offered condolences on behalf of all Canadians to Ridsdel鈥檚 family and friends and called on the media to respect their privacy.
The family released a statement Monday afternoon.
鈥淥ur family is devastated at loss of our father and brother John Ridsdel whose life was tragically cut short by this senseless act of violence despite use doing everything within our power to bring him home,鈥� the statement said. 鈥淗e was loved by all his friends and adored by his daughters, sister, and extended family. He will be sorely missed in the days to come.鈥�
Ridsdel was predeceased by both his parents, whom many in the Yorkton area recall with fondness.
鈥淏illy Ridsdel was an ophthalmologist and very beloved,鈥� Morrison said. 鈥淎nd Jess, [John鈥檚] mother, was an amazing woman, they were both terrific.鈥�
In the 1970s, Ridsdel embarked on a career as a journalist working for the CBC in Regina and Calgary and for the Calgary Herald before switching to the resource sector. He worked for Petro-Canada internationally and eventually became chief operating officer for TVI Pacific, a Calgary-based mining company.
鈥淭he TVI team is completely devastated to learn of John鈥檚 passing,鈥� a company statement read.聽 鈥淲e are in profound shock, disbelief and sorrow to have lost our former colleague and close friend. John was a remarkable man and his gregariousness, warmth and wit will be sorely missed.聽 Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with his family at this heartbreaking time.鈥�
Ridsdel was semi-retired, but was still consulting for a TVI subsidiary in the Philippines, where he had been living for the last decade or so.
鈥淗e loved the Philippines,鈥� Morrison said. 鈥淗e was semi-retired, but he was doing a lot of sailing, which was really his passion.鈥�
