Saturday, July 5, 2014

Nathan O'Brien Update: Violent Crime

Police Nathan car
When a child is missing, we do not expect to hear the parents speak of the child in the past tense, as if dead.

Deceptive parents will make an effort to avoid this, but when the free editing process begins, they sometimes falter and slip up, perhaps just once, to reveal guilty knowledge that the child is dead.

But what of innocent parents?

Might innocent parents use past tense reference?

Yes.

When a parent slips into past tense reference, we must consider:

a.  How much time has gone by, and if the parent has lost hope.
b.  Have the police told the parent something that would take away hope?  In this case, the parents might, at any moment, lose hope and reference the child as if deceased.  It depends upon what police have revealed and the natural defensiveness, or even optimism of the parent.  Mothers will cling to hope longer than fathers, in general.

Here is an update on missing 5 year old Nathan O'Brien:


A violent crime happened at the last place a missing five-year-old boy and his grandparents were seen, Calgary police said Friday. 
Nathan O'Brien and his grandparents, Kathy and Alvin Liknes, have not been seen since Nathan's mom left the Liknes' home Sunday night. When she returned to pick Nathan up Monday morning, all three were gone — and there were signs that they had not left willingly, say police.
"We can now confirm that a violent crime happened in that residence," said Calgary police Staff Sgt. Doug Andrus.
"Forensics experts continue to analyze evidence found at the scene in order to determine the exact nature and extent of crime, as well as who the potential victims are."
  • Rod and Jennifer O'Brien made an emotional plea to their son Nathan O'Brien, asking him to stay strong, in front of media Wednesday. Nathan and his grandparents Alvin and Kathryn Liknes haven't been seen since Sunday night.
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Andrus added the case is still a missing person investigation and the Amber Alertremains in effect. 
“We remain hopeful that we will find them alive," said Andrus, who is with the Calgary Police Service's homicide unit.
“But based on the evidence, I would say someone would be in medical distress."
Andrus said they are not able to say how many people may be in medical distress, but said they have "sent the exhibits away," and are awaiting results. 

Search for Ford F-150 truck, driver

Police are looking to speak with the driver of this Ford truck in connection with the disappearance of three Calgary family members. (Calgary Police Service)
Based on CCTV video, police are looking for a Ford F-150 truck that was seen driving around the area several times in the course of the night. Police want to speak with anyone who was in that vehicle, or who may have more information about it. 
“We just believe given the area the vehicle was in, and the fact that it was the night of the incident and that it drove in the area several times, that there's a good possibility that the individual, or individuals, may have information," said Andrus.
The truck is described as:
  • A late 1980s or early '90s Ford F-150.
  • Green.
  • Appears to have been kept in very good condition.
For the past week, investigators have been interviewing neighbours and are looking to speak with everyone who attended the estate sale Friday, Saturday or Sunday. The O'Brien family had been over helping out with an estate sale.
Police say they are pleased with the progress being made so far in the investigation. 
"I would say it's less a mystery to us," said Andrus. "Are we closer than yesterday? I would say we are."

Police hoping for the best

On Thursday, police said they still don't know the motive behind their disappearance and "have no suspects [they] can name."
Investigators say they are working with the Canada Border Services Agency and partner agencies in the U.S.
Police say they have had a tremendous response from the public, including tips, and are working hard to keep moving the investigation forward.
The chief of the Calgary Police Service said he is convinced someone knows something about the disappearance.

Search for information continues

website has been set up for people to offer messages of support to the family.
The site has been created as a dedicated place for those messages after police say support began rolling in from across Canada. 
It also contains information on how people can submit tips to Crime Stoppers.
Anyone with information or who attended the Liknes's estate sale is still being asked to come forward to speak with Calgary Police Service, which can be reached at 403-266-1234, or Crime Stoppers, which is at 1-800-222-8477.
Investigators say people may not even realize they know something that could help the investigation and so they are looking to talk with as many people as possible.

Community shocked 

Neighbours say they are dumbfounded by whole situation. 
Christie Simmons lives two doors down from the grandparents' home in Parkhill.
"These are my neighbours. These are normal, grounded, everyday people like us, you know, so I guess that's the whole thing. It ends up feeling like it's hitting a little close to home. You know, it makes you wonder about your own safety."
Simmons says everyone in the neighbourhood hopes Nathan and his grandparents will be found soon.
Elsewhere, three bodies were found Friday in a car near Barrie, Ont. Police released few details, but told CBC News the discovery is not connected.

66 comments:

Nic said...

Thank you, Peter. Shortly after I posted the transcript from the press conference I rec'd a news alert about what the mother happenstanced upon when she arrived to get Nathan. From what has been broadcasted and written in the news, she has been working with LE, walking them through the house and the scene of the crime as many times as needed. I couldn't imagine how horrific it would be for her to do this, but doing it because any little thing could be The Thing to bring her family back to her. Devastated and desperate and hopeful and worried and scared for her son and parents. Each day they are gone must be pure agony.

Prayers for the O'Brien family.

Tania Cadogan said...

"have no suspects [they] can name."

This stands out to me due to the qualifiers.

The qualifiers being "they can name"

Does this indicate they have suspects but cannot currently name them?

The mom as she was the last known person to see them has to be considrered a suspect based on that fact alone.
Questioning will clear her of involvement if it is shown she did not have the time etc.

Then suspicion moves to the rest of the family, those present at the yard sale, neighbors friends and so on.

Medical distress is not a phrase i have come across before.
Is this a polite way to say blood was found?
If blood then they could test to see who it was from.
If medication was left behind for a serious medical complaint then medical distress could be used since without medication, the person could become sick or symptoms excarbated.

I wonder if the targets were the grandparents and the child was unexpected, he is, so to speak, and unexpected victim of the crime.

If the child was the victim, how did they know he would be there?
They would have to know so either it was a family member, someone followed them (from the yard sale?)

Lily said...

OT ... Peter, a lot of us seem to be bothered by Leanna Harris' comment at the funeral about "full toddler lips" yet aren't sure exactly why. Do you have any particular insight on that statement?

Nic said...

Hobs, this has pointedly been enquired about by a news reporter. The police spokesperson just repeated essentially the same thing. (That they can't name.) It was then asked if there were any POIs. Again, the spokesperson said there were no suspects they could name. Interesting that they don't say "no suspects" or "aren't any suspects".

The parents are very clear that Nathan wasn't suppose to be there.

It's also remarkable that the Calgary police have restricted their psa's to "just" an amber alert. That they are not reporting to the public to be on guard for themselves, etc. So a big part of me thinks they know that the general public is not in danger and that what happened wasn't a robbery per se, but that it was about money. (lost/owed?) The Calgary Stampede is on, too. So a huge influx of tourists and partying in Calgary right now.

There are reports of blood and that whatever has been "exhibited" has been dispatched for urgent processing. They're saying a week before the results are available and people can't believe it. But the spokesperson/people say it usually takes months. I'm guessing that they want to know if it the blood of one or more, male or female, etc.

All of the vehicles have been accounted for. One of them were towed away (yesterday?) Some now speculate that maybe the family was transported in their own vehicle and the green truck was involved by escorting the driver of the family vehicle back to the crime scene, parking it like it was never gone, and then driving that "suspect" away in the green truck.

It could be that this is a kidnapping for ransom (house sold, estate sale, new house bought in Edmonton a place in Mexico,) by someone hurt via an investment venture, (two bankruptcies in the last couple of years each by the grandparents and parents of Nathan,) and the grandchild was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

There is so much speculation around this case. It just doesn't make sense.

Nic said...

Also, part of me was wondering why LE didn't appear to be branching out/away from the family/scene of the crime. Some of the things the mom said in the press conference bothered me, compounded by the discovery/commentary about bankruptcies, etc., etc. and I speculated if LE was keep the mother close in order to be able to watch her? But ... with what was reported yesterday (the violence and medical distress,) and the green truck, I'm now of the opinion that there is a third party involved who isn't family. I stand by the notion that it is someone who knows the family (grandparents') business, though.

Anonymous said...

It appears to be some type of contraption attached to the front of the truck (UNLESS FAULTY PHOTO). Perhpas a snow plow? Maybe a chrome bug sheild. The wheels appear to be chrome.

There are still a lot of older men the age of the grandparents out there committing crime. I would guess it was someone that gave the grandpa the warm fuzzies long enough to let his guard down.

Anonymous said...

If that is a snow plow and IF the bumper is what it appears to be-made for trailoring-though it appears to sit low to the ground, this truck could be a 3/4 ton. Wonder what heavy stuff he sold that someone said another would be back to pick up?

Anonymous said...

Also, there appears to be some type of reflection on the window. From the mirror? A patch on an elbow propped on the door? Or, someone with a cellphone camera casing the area to see where the cameras are?

Anonymous said...

Peter, perhaps the information should read F 150 or F250

Skeptical said...

Could there be an Ockum's razor explanation? Did someone follow them from the estate sale thinking they had the cash from the sale with them and robbed them?

Nic said...

Truck it could be a push bar or a plate steele winch bumper like this:
http://broncograveyard.com/bronco/i-35019-plate-steel-winch-bumper-style-3.html

The back bumper looks like it just has a "step" fabricated into the middle of it.

I think LE should be looking to cottage country. IMO, whoever drives the green truck is a 'bush wacker'.

Nic said...

It could be that the green truck was casing the place. They advertised the times of the estate sale. It was also Canada Day weekend, so many away at their cottages, etc. Whoever it was, probably could see that they had company and were waiting for them to leave... assuming that it would just be the grandparents left in the house and not anticipating that Nathan would be there, hence parents' earlier statement that he "wasn't suppose to be there". That there was no forced entry meant that whoever showed up, might have been expected (there earlier in the day and coming back from something that required a truck to move.) That no one heard anything out of the ordinary because there might have been a conversation overheard that someone would be returning later for a big piece of furniture.

So it could be just a "robbery" before they had a chance to make the deposit. But why the violence/abduction for a few hundred bucks? Just go in masked, rob them and leave... I would say all were alive, albeit one or more badly hurt, otherwise why move a dead body.

jmo

Anonymous said...

http://www.westernplows.com/wp/showroom/

A snow plow may explain the extension over the hood. A spreader may explain the rear. If this person contracted say small commericail parking lots, etc. this truck may well be a 250 more designed for trailoring which may explain the position of the mirrors which look out of alignment with the truck unless they were extension mirrors used in trailoring and the bright spot on the window is the reflection of one of those round spot mirrors often seen on trailoring mirrors.

To park thesxe things, the mirrors typically have to be pulled in.

Nic said...

Extension could be a bug deflector?

Most snowplow contractors remove their 'blades' ? after winter.

Nic said...

pick up truck bug deflector...
http://www.realtruck.com/images/internal/2012/08/toyota-tundra-bug-deflector.jpg

Anonymous said...

Puhleeze, Nic! Go back to doing what you do best...beginning whiner.

No bug shield extends more than 6 inches above the hood. I dare you to find one (Toyota bug sheilds and Ford bug sheilds are like comparing apples and oranges).

The person would not take off the plow if the truck was only used for a certain pupose. Hence, other autos available for use.

You really must be Canadian. Go whack at the bush and see what you can flush out! Lol!

Anonymous said...

How can they rule out that the three burned bodies are not related to the crime so quickly? Maybe they found three adult bodies and are ruling it out based on there not being a child's body present. Two perpetrators could have been involved. If one turned on the other and killed his/her partner, then there would be three adult bodies. The second perpetrator could have taken the boy with him or her.

Anonymous said...

One poster mentioned "cottage country". It would be called a "cabin" up in northern Alberta. There is someone in the Liknes family who manufactures modular homes for use as cabins, etc., up in northern Alberta. The same person also runs a building supply centre. This is where Alvin and Allen Liknes bought land, in Evansburg, as stated on a government website.

Evansburg makes the news these days with grow-op busts (one allegedly involving a Russian crime syndicate) and homes burning from drug-related causes, etc. It's fairly close to Sangudo and Mayerthorpe. Danny and Robert Sand of Westlock (re: Dennis Strongquill) also come to mind, a little further away. Barrhead is slightly closer (some involved in the Rozko/Fallen Four story). The Lyle and Marie McCann case also comes to mind. If the Liknes home had burnt to the ground, I might be inclined to think of one of the players in that story, but it didn't.

Speaking of rough characters, the community where the Liknes family lived is a couple of blocks from a pawn shop, money place, LRT station, addictions recovery centre, drive-through coffee stand, apartments, etc. A H**ters bar is a bit further on. The houses on their street are in urban renewal, or yuppification. Small homes are being torn down and replaced with modern, two-storey, larger houses. A realtor who spoke to the media about the Liknes family has a property listed for sale, directly across the street. At the time of the disappearance, a house three doors down was listed for rent on Kijiji. "Dry basement" was a feature. A condo apartment down the block was also listed for rent. The duplex next door to the Liknes home shows as being under construction on Google steets. Although Alvin Liknes apparently told his new neighbor that the street was stable, the times were changing, especially since the 2013 flood. Even in 2012, residents of the area were told by the city to expected flooded basements from heavy rains. Some of the houses on their street were probably rentals, awaiting further land acquisitions by their owners for redevelopment.

The vintage truck and Kijiji ads make me think more of something along the lines of Tim Bosma in Ontario, and the collection of cars and trucks stored in an airplane hangar by his alleged killer. This is a person who competed in the Baja races in Mexico. I kept entering "F-250" when searching for information, so it's ironic that someone else is thinking along these lines.

Anonymous said...

Why start a ground search now, almost a week after the disappearance? Yet that is what the police are doing today. It seems odd that this was not done from the beginning. They must have known violence was involved from the beginning -- how else to explain the Amber Alert that did not fit Amber Alert criteria? Better to do this at the outset, before evidence is destroyed or removed.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/calgary/Authorities+return+Parkhill+historic+search+missing+five/10004457/story.html

Anonymous said...

Garbage must have been picked up on 38A Avenue sometime this week.

Anonymous said...

Since we learned of the "violent crime" and "medical distress", did little Nathan have any medical conditions that might put him at risk?

I noticed that his left eye seems to turned inward slightly. Is this benign, or could there be a medical condition that would put him at risk? If so, this would be adding to his parents' stress levels.

Anonymous said...

I did a search and found that Calgary and Oro-Medonte are about 2050 miles apart... is this correct? I'm really clueless when it comes to Canada... that would make them much less likely to be related to Nathan's disappearance. Because LE said they weren't related, I was thinking they were much, much closer.

Anonymous said...

https://twitter.com/SUNjimwells/status/485506448521060352/photo/1

Posted in live reporting on the Liknes/O'Brien case. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't a lead. The green truck is distinctive.

Anonymous said...

Howamy of you suspect mom knows something?

Anonymous said...

I think mom is involved somehow. Let's see...

Anonymous said...

This truck appears to have been someones' pride and joy in its younger years. Note: chrome wheels. Since then, it may have been converted to utility purposes since the owner may not want to be free of it. Or, passed to a friend or relative. It appears to have snow chains on in the photo, but could be permanent stains from the snow only use if the chains were kept on it while in storage during non-snow seasons.

Whoever owns it kept it clean or it would be a rust bucket. Else, it was brought from the south and hasn't been in use long.

I agree. It's probably kept in a storage building on a farm or large acerage or in the city. The wheels wouldn't make it a good off road vehicle, though. Too easy to crack. Perhaps the owner lives down a long paved drive which requires such a vehicle on occasions or does things for friends and sometimes businesses upon request.

Trucks aren't great for racing. Too easy to flip. Unless the rear is weighted.

Anonymous said...

Hard to fit three extra people in the front bench...

Anonymous said...

Not hard to fit three extra people in the Ford-one of the rommiest cabs on the road. Two adult passengers with child on lap. Very comfortable. Unless...it's a stick shift.

Anonymous said...

Did I hear a reporter ask if the trick was spotted on the driveway?

Anonymous said...

If that is a front winch, perhaps it could be used for pulling stumps or something similar.

Anonymous said...

The back of the bed appears to be worn as does the center part of the back of the cab. Hauls something that rocks and rubs, is over 4 foot tall, e.g. tree limbs, something vinyl that contains ingredients, or where an old tool box may have once been.

Anonymous said...

Not good: the police are now doing a shoulder-to-shoulder search in Airdrie, reminiscent of the shoulder-to-shoulder search in Barrie. This is usually done for one reason.

http://www.calgarysun.com/2014/07/05/police-return-to-calgary-neighbourhood-where-boy-and-his-grandparents-went-missing

The high level of random violence in this incident, a couple of days before Nathan and his grandparents went missing, is pause for thought:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/police-seek-suspect-after-airdrie-man-beaten-with-pipe-1.2696376

Anonymous said...

The search started last night in Airdrie

Anonymous said...

Did Alvin and Kathryn Liknes have a trailer, RV or vehicle in storage, that they would use to drive down to Mexico, or furniture and household items in storage somewhere? With the upcoming move, the items they wanted to keep may already have been packed up.

Anonymous said...

@Anonymous 5:31 PM: This makes me think that today's major ground search around the Parkhill community is a result of something that turned up in Airdrie.

Anonymous said...

Was the Airdrie pipe assault the result of car prowling? Were vehicles stolen, or broken into in Parkhill recently? Did the Liknes family leave a garage door opener, ID, etc. in any of their vehicles?

Anonymous said...

http://globalnews.ca/video/1429007/liknes-family-statement-on-alvin-and-kathryn-liknes

Would appreciate any comments on Liknes' son Jeff's statement in this clip, please and thank you.

Anonymous said...

I agree 100%!!

Anonymous said...

Press conference in 45 minutes, as it's confirmed the search in Airdrie is related to the Liknes/O'Brien case. The truck has been found and a man taken in for questioning last night.

Anonymous said...

Not too surprising. I have a relative who lives just a couple of blocks down from the crime scene and there are always a lot of homeless people hanging around Stanley Park across the street. He's been robbed himself.

Nic said...

Anon @ 1:36

Why as a matter of fact I am Canadian. :0)

Sensitive much? About less than six inches and all that. :0)

Just because the Ford manufacturer doesn't make them bigger than six inches, doesn't mean a welder (or someone who knows one/barters with trades people) couldn't get one retro fitted for themselves and attached to the bush bar/winch I linked to above. Someone interested in an extended bug deflector would probably want it more for protecting the hood from scratches (from saplings/low branches) while off roading - driving through the brush to -- a cabin!

I don't know why you would think anyone would leave the plow blade on the truck to drive around in the *summertime*. (Canada has four seasons and currently we are in the middle of summer.) If you wanted to stick out/be noticed that would certainly be the way you would go about it. Even if it was winter, the blade would come off in order to drive around town. (They are meant to come off when not in use.) Any bump, etc., on the road would have it wagging and bumping off of the pavement. It's just bad form. Additionally, it would be really noticeable in the photo as it wouldn't sit flush against the bar/grill. It sits out and away from the car on account of the amount of weight/force needed to push/move the snow. You wouldn't want the front of the truck punched in from the force of pushing all that weight. http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1024&bih=608&q=ford+snow+plow+prep+package&oq=ford+snow+plow&gs_l=img.1.3.0j0i24l3.1478.6896.0.9518.22.12.3.5.2.0.140.986.7j4.11.0....0...1ac.1.48.img..8.14.933.mADGJmeG0oA

Lastly, I don't know why people are talking about chains on the tires. I don't notice any in the pictures. They are used for climbing up steep slopes (mountain roads) for traction on ice and slippery, packed snow. Again, we're in *July*.



Anonymous said...

There is a Jennifer Liknes named on page 9 of this document from 2007. As I recall, Jennifer O'Brien was reported as working for an oil company. She married in 2009. There are several companies named at the beginning of the document, including the one reported to employ both of Nathan's parents.

http://www.municipalaffairs.alberta.ca/cfml/boardorders/pdf/DL033-07.pdf

Anonymous said...

Nic, get us a picture of the truck at least...one that's not blurry.

driving around casing is standard operating procedure where I am. I can't count how many times I see a vehicle pass in front of my home more than twice within 5 minutes. It's just creepy! Especially with death threats and the extortion rackets they run. Purtrid way of life.

Anonymous said...

Property in Airdrie belongs to a mr and mrs Garland. They are in their 80's. They have a son who lives with them he was taken in for questioning. He's in his late 40's-50's.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous, he is closer to 54.

Anonymous said...

What I wonder is whether the person of interest was at the estate sale and also whether there was open talk about Nathan set to sleep over that night. If both were the case then I suspect this was a planned child abduction where it'd be easier to take a child with grandparents unable to protect him. So I believe there was an abduction attempt, grandparents intervened, things got messy and the perp took them with him under threats so they couldn't report the boy missing in time to stop him from getting away with it. If it had been a money motive it'd be easily tracked and police wouldn't have declared there to be no motive. The fact that he didn't voluntarily come forward re: a top news story as an owner of the truck and is only cooperating 'to a degree' is suspicious too. And why is there no request by police to have Airdrie neighbours scan their nearby properties themselves? Do the police have to do everything?

Nic said...

Anonymous @ 2:06, anything is possible. Going back to what the mother referenced at the press conference, when talking about Nathan's younger brother, she said something to the effect that he doesn't try to get away (paraphrasing). And that Nathan and his grandmother were very close, that Kathy Letkis was like a second mother. My impression was that Nathan really liked to spend time with his gramma and that maybe he balked at having to leave that night and begged for a sleepover. He didn't have a change of clothes which is why Jennifer brought with her the next day. So to me the sleepover was spontaneous and I would lean toward the notion that there wasn't any conversation at the estate sale. Also, the parents were very clear that Nathan wasn't suppose to be there that night.

I've been getting caught up on the news since the last update (which I missed).

Watching the news videos it struck me that LE searching the Airdrie property were wearing hazmat suits and that Staff-Sgt. Doug Andrus is from homicide.

LE say they are talking to other orgs (US and other provinces), but the investigation has stayed central to the disappearance of the Nathan and his grandparents.

I find this troubling and sad.

Nic said...

Anon @ 10:59, let your own fingers do the walking.

Anonymous said...

The estate sale was held at their residence. Same location as the crime was committed...the estate sale was there earlier in the day

Anonymous said...

Agree with Anon@ 6:17 PM: comments on the son Jeff's statement? Who is the woman crying hard standing next to him, another daughter of the Liknes, or Jeff's wife/GF?

Anonymous said...

There was a couple murdered an unsolved crime back in Febuary 2014. In Calgary (the Carlsons) there hasn't been any updates or many details released by police. It is a odd case also. Protect yourself and your property. Cameras are very easy to install yourself now. You can buy wireless ones that download right to your computer or a personal account on a website for a few hundred dollars. The problem with open houses and estate sales is there is usually a lot of people who are unaccompanied going through your home. They can hide or unlock a window or rig a door to not lock then have access to your property and person. Be careful who you let into your home. If you are selling something online meet up with the person away from your home or if it is a big purchase that you can't move have it outside and put up signs that you have cameras on your property. Borrow your neighbours big or yappy dog if you don't have one yourself.

Anonymous said...

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/calgary/Person+interest+Douglas+Garland+missing+family+case+link/10005813/story.html

He was also involved in another story reported in the media years ago.

Anonymous said...

Anon @6:01: A security system would not have been an obstacle for this individual, according to what was reported years ago.

Anonymous said...

Why are we not hearing a connection between Lyle and Marie McCann's disappearance and Alvin and Kathy Liknes.
Both unsolved. Both involving senior couples. Both in Alberta. I believe the killer(s) were surprised by the unexpected presence of a child this time. Hopefully that will trip them up and they will be found.

Anonymous said...

Looking for a welder:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/rcmp-seek-welder-with-information-in-case-of-missing-alberta-seniors/article1359015/

A welding table was seen in the Garland acreage yard.

Anonymous said...

The McCanns have never been found. Their motor home was found burned in a remote area near Edson.

The Berringtons were found, with this strange comment from a police officer:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/calgary-couple-in-90s-found-dead-near-roadside-1.923245

"This road is not on any maps," said RCMP Sgt. Patrick Webb. "It's a lease road, very isolated. The road's passable, but you certainly wouldn't be taking a Chrysler Sebring up that area just willingly."

Anonymous said...

In 2001, a prisoner in Drumheller Institution was murdered after locking himself in his cell. The other inmates opened the door by prying off a welded panel and tripping the locking system. They learned how by assisting prison electricians.

Welding is another skill taught in prisons.

Anonymous said...

I can't help but wonder if the POI ever fathered any children of his own. This might provide some insight into how he would treat someone else's child.

Have investigators considered contacting his old school teachers, or looking up his childhood friends to see if they might have some ideas about his favorite activities and places to go when he was a teenager? Court documents from the time he was 40 stated that he had begun his criminal activities more than 20 years earlier. He would have been in his teens then.

Would he return to the site of his childhood home, after so many years? Would he go to the places where other relatives used to live when he was a child? Was there a life event or person that triggered his criminal activities? His former friends might know better than anyone else.

Anonymous said...

I do not like the wording here:

http://globalnews.ca/news/1439519/still-no-sign-of-missing-calgary-family-despite-exhaustive-search/

He added that this case is different than other missing persons cases, where volunteers are brought in to help search large areas.

“We are currently looking for evidence related to a missing persons case, that’s why we’re using police officers.”

It's not so much a search for missing persons, but a search for evidence.

I don't know if you detected it, but I heard cracking in the voices of the police officers at the press conference yesterday. They look drawn and tired. I think they know what has happened. They are looking for evidence of what happened.

Anonymous said...

The ongoing search of various landfills is a necessary step. If only the newspapers would rerun the articles from the arrest of Douglas Garland years ago, after he had lived undercover for years. IIRC, he had taken a change of clothing to a B&E. IIRC, he broke in by disarming a security system, then left wearing different clothes. His mistake was in leaving a receipt for those clothes in his pocket, which led police directly to his parents' home.

Anonymous said...

One of the TV news channels (CTV?) aired a brief plea to whoever is responsible on the late news a couple of nights ago. In it, a professor or college instructor told the person responsible, "Your beer won't taste the same. Your relationships will break down."

This was on the late night news, and I thought it was odd. A POI was in custody at the time. I can't find the clip on a news website now.

Was it his idea to make this kind of statement, or did the police ask him to do it? Whoever is behind this doesn't seem to believe that the person in custody is actually responsible, or that someone who drinks beer and has a relationship is responsible. This kind of appeal would only work if said person has a conscience.

Ali said...

'I think this is going to turn into a happy story': Mother of five-year-old Canadian boy abducted with his grandparents refuses to lose hope.


"I think this is going to turn into a happy story." Really? A happy story?

Ali said...

'I think this is going to turn into a happy story': Mother of five-year-old Canadian boy abducted with his grandparents refuses to lose hope.


"I think this is going to turn into a happy story." Really? A happy story?

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately not the case. So sad for this family. Sending our blessings.

Anonymous said...

All hope of finding the family alive is gone:

http://live.calgaryherald.com/Event/Amber_alert_The_search_for_Nathan_OBrien_and_his_grandparents

Unknown said...

nice blog..