I am the eldest brother of the subject of this story, Reginald Stephen MacDonald, “Reggie.”

Twenty years ago, on a cold and windy night — a description that could apply to almost every winter night in Prince Edward Island, in Eastern Canada — an event occurred that changed the lives of my family forever.

On that fateful night, my brother, in a state of panic, made a very poor decision. We believe that he was experiencing a drug-induced panic when he left the house. He was never seen again.

The Search for Reggie

The search for my brother initially began locally. It then expanded beyond the boundaries of Prince Edward Island, across Eastern Canada, and ultimately became a nationwide search.

Almost seven months passed before Reggie’s car was found. A few weeks later, his remains were discovered.

Members of my family and I participated directly in the search and recovery efforts. It was a horrible experience, but at least it gave us the closure we desperately needed: we found my brother.

I see so many “True Crime” television programs in which families never find the remains of their loved ones. I truly feel their pain and anguish, because I know something of what that uncertainty is like.

The loss affected our family deeply. My mother was never the same.

My father was a recovering alcoholic, and we all feared that Reggie’s disappearance and death would cause him to “jump off the wagon.” Instead, he remained strong and sober. He used Reggie’s life story as an opportunity to help other parents who reached out to him to discuss the challenges their own families were facing with addiction.

The mereggie website eventually became a central part of my father’s life. He read it many times and used Reggie’s experiences as a way of talking with other families who were struggling with addiction.

Why was the original website called “mereggie”?

The short answer is that Reggie kept diaries of his life from a very young age.

Two of those diaries had a title:

“mereggie, the story of me” aka Reggie MacDonald

That was how Reggie identified himself in the journals, and it is where the name mereggie came from.

Starting in the days following Reggie’s disappearance, we tried to understand why he might have driven away on that very cold night. As part of that process, we went through his belongings.

Despite having been quite affluent during an earlier period of his life, Reggie did not have much. He kept the things that were important to him: his huge record collection, personal mementos, and his journals.

We did not know it while he was alive, but Reggie had been journaling about his experiences since he was very young.

As we read through those journals, we laughed, we cried, and we felt his pain as he dealt with addiction and the other struggles in his life.

Reggie had wanted to be a writer. As a way of dealing with some of my own trauma, I felt that it was important to share his writings with the world. That was how the original mereggie website came to be.

What Happened to the Original Website?

I am quite proud of the original website. It became much more than I had ever anticipated.

The original intention was simply to share Reggie’s thoughts and challenges. I thought that perhaps people in the community would find his story interesting or insightful.

Instead, we soon began receiving comments from people all over the world who shared their own stories and asked for advice.

I personally think that my father really enjoyed the website. He told me that he had read it many times, and he discussed Reggie’s story with many families who were struggling with addiction.

As my mother descended into dementia, and with my father passing away in late 2023, I felt that the website had run its course. I decided that I could retire it, and I did — twice.

However, people from the community, many of whom I had never met, continued to contact me. They told me how important the content had been to them and asked that I put the website back online.

So I did.

I say “twice” because the last time the site went offline was actually for technical reasons. When those requests began coming in, I had to work through those technical challenges to bring it back online.

Why Is the Website Being Relaunched?

There are two reasons.

The first is technical. The old website was beginning to fail. If it was going to remain online, it needed to be rebuilt using current software and given a new design that could be easily viewed on a phone, tablet, or PC.

The second reason is more important.

Although the original story was accurate, we came to feel that it focused too much on the negative aspects of Reggie’s experiences.

Most of the content on the new site has not changed. What has changed is the way we are telling his story.

We are also adding some insights and stories that have never been told before.

The focus of the new website begins with “Who I Was.”

From there, the site explores the various phases of Reggie’s life, his experiences and struggles, and the people and events that shaped him. We are also providing resources for families and individuals who may be facing similar challenges.

The goal is not simply to tell the story of how Reggie died.

It is to help people understand who Reggie was.

And perhaps, through his experiences, to help someone else.

Help Us Continue the Story

We hope that the new mereggie website will be of interest and, more importantly, beneficial to many people.

If you have thoughts, memories, photographs, or information that you believe should be part of Reggie’s story, we would love to hear from you.

Please use our Contact form to get in touch.

Thank you for taking the time to learn about Reggie.