'She was Auntie K.': Kayla Ferguson believed to be youngest victim of Ottawa explosion
Nearly a week after a devastating explosion shook the capital and took the lives of six people, the families of the victims are still looking for answers.
“I just keep asking why, and how?” Maria Ferguson, the cousin of 26-year-old Kayla Ferguson, said.
A welder, Kayla Ferguson is believed to the be youngest victim of the blast, and the only woman, but to her family and friends, Kayla was always one of the guys.
“She loved being with men and she could do everything a man could do, if not better,” Maria said.
Ferguson was a boxer, a powerlifter and a hunter.
“She was quiet, she was reserved. She was an old soul in a young body,” Maria continued.
Gentle and soft-spoken, Ferguson loved the outdoors, either behind the handlebars of an ATV in the mud, or skipping across fresh snow in a Ski-Doo.
“She would be jumping up and down and just so happy that there was snow on the ground so she could get out on her Ski-Doo,” Maria continued. “She’d be out ripping this weekend.”
A daughter and sister, Kayla was also the godmother to Maria’s three boys.
“She was Auntie K. From the minute they were born, she was there; once a week, every holiday, she would come and steal them from me and take them for nights and sleepovers and take them four-wheeling,” Maria said.
The middle child in a family of five, Ferguson’s death is shaking her family.
“You don’t expect things like that and you don’t think it’s ever going to happen to you. She was the rock for a lot of people, she was definitely my personal journal, so it’s really hard,” Maria said.
On the fence outside Eastway Tank a small bouquet of flowers holds a picture of Kayla, dressed in full camouflage and smiling in the woods. It’s those moments that make her loss a little easier for her family.
“You know, she always lived her life to the fullest and she was happy when she went and she didn’t leave any stone left unturned that she wanted to turn. And I think that makes it a little bit easier,” Maria said.
“She was living her dream and she was happy,” she added.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
LIVE B.C. seeks ban on using drugs in 'all public spaces,' shifting approach to decriminalization
The B.C. government is moving to have drug use banned in 'all public spaces,' marking a major shift in the province's approach to decriminalization.
Air traveller complaints to Canadian Transportation Agency hit new high
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid says he has Bell's palsy
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis he says has affected him since before the play-in tournament.
AFN chief says Air Canada offered a 15% discount after her headdress was mishandled
After the Assembly of First Nations' national chief complained to Air Canada about how staffers treated her and her ceremonial headdress on a flight this week, she says the airline responded by offering a 15 per cent discount on her next flight.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.