Remember that kid who was banned from Call of Duty 4 by his parents, then ran away? Well, here's another element to the story: a reward for $50,000 is now up for his finding, half thanks to Microsoft Canada, who have put up $25,000 as an incentive. This is a response to the boy's father, Steve, who plead on television for the company to do whatever they could.

"Microsoft said they would do anything they can to expedite the process to find Brandon," said Sgt. Dave Goodbrand, spokesman for the [local] Barrie police.

One of our GameGrep users asked "I wonder if the Police have considered tracking down his XBL friends list to see if he went to one of their houses." Well, according to a new report, they've been tracking down the IP addresses of everyone who interacted with him before he left; worrisomely, there are concerns he went to see someone he met online, this coming after some phone-in tips were taken on a local newscast.

Police have been searching a 40 km² area for him where he was spotted for six days now; about 400 volunteers from all over southern Ontario and over 1,000 tips have made up the volunteer side of things, though luck has yet to be struck. While it's tragic, you have to really admire that kind of communal effort. They've even hired a psychic! My only qualm here is with this kind of volunteer dedication, will Microsoft's donation make a difference? Could it have aided in a different way more efficiently, since people are obviously willing to help as is?

As well as his bike, the boy's backpack has also been found, which had a toothbrush and deoderant inside.

Charmaine Nolan, regional manager for human resources with the Barrie Advance newspaper, helped co-ordinate the volunteer search. He says "reinforcements" are supposed to arrive today with all-terrain vehicles to search the rough, wet area.

"The mood is quite hopeful. We are looking for anything that will give a tip to police that will help them find Brandon," he says.

Oh, Miami lawyer Jack Thompson has offered his help, too, saying "these are tough things to have the kid go cold turkey." While we all pretty much think the same thing of Thompson, I say if he helps, that's great.