CBC News Calgary
Nathan O'Brien Amber Alert: Search to Continue
July 08, 2014
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calga...til-no-stone-has-been-left-unturned-1.2699624
Rough Draft of Transcript of Calgary Police update on missing boy, grandparents.
Press Conference at CPS headquarter.
This is not an official transcript of any of the participants.
All errors are my own.
Calgary Police Services Spokesman Kevin Brookwell = KB Inspector Garret Woolsey = GW
Please note: the coverage on this site cuts in after any introductory remarks were made. I'll try to find another source later to complete this.
KB … I cannot confirm any connection to this investigation. An Amber Alert remains in effect as tips continue to come in from across Canada, and we continue to seek public assistance and would like to hear from anyone who has any information regarding the whereabouts of Nathan O'Brien and Kathryn and Alvin Liknes. I will take your questions now, but please know that I am unable to get into any investigative details or speak about the man who was taken in for questioning as he was released from custody and has not been charged in relation to this particular investigation. Also here with us today is Inspector Garret Woolsey. He is the commander of the Special Tactical Operations Team for Airdrie and in charge of the search operations outside of Airdrie. So, I will answer what questions I can.
Scrum cross talk. KB indicates a particular reporter.
KB Right here.
Reporter Is it still considered a missing person investigation?
KB It is still considered a missing person investigation.
Reporter At what point will police decide to call off the Amber Alert?
KB Well that'll be an investigative decision based on the number of tips that are still coming in and information that we're receiving. So, at this point, we are still receiving tips from the Amber Alert, so we will remain or have that remain in effect until such time as that information is no longer coming in and then the investigators will determine if they're going to pull that Amber Alert.
Reporter Are you still hoping they're alive?
KB Absolutely.
Reporter What gives you that hope?
KB We have no indication whatsoever to indicate anything other than that, so our investigation continues. We have close to a hundred people still involved in this investigation, and we'll continue to put the resources we need to into this investigation. And, at this point there's no indication otherwise so we are hopeful that we will find them alive.
Reporter What about the signs of violence in the house, though? Does that speak to the risk that they might not be here any longer?
KB It's a concern, absolutely, but there is no evidence at this point to indicate one way or the other so we are going to remain hopeful.
Reporter What are you searching for in the fields?
KB Well, I'll get into that--(indicates GW) do you want to?
GW Sure
KB Well, I'll pass back and forth with the inspector.
GW Just to reintroduce myself again, I'm Inspector Garrett Woolsey, Woolsey spelled W-O-O-L-S-E-Y, and I'm a commander with the RCMP Special Tactical Operations team currently working in conjunction with our Calgary Police Partner in the Airdrie area. Special Tactical Operations is an RCMP unit comprised of officers that volunteer from across the province to engage in operations just like this. So we're currently involved in and integrated with our Calgary Police Partners in the ground search operations in the Airdrie area.
Reporter: Yesterday, the search moved from the previous day's fields around the property to Range Road 290. Is there any particular reason? Like, the vehicles, the police vehicles raced there very, very quickly. Is there any particular reason that there might be interest in those fields, or is it kind of a scan in general?
GW The way that search operations work is the teams are tasked based on the investigative priorities identified by the investigators. In this case, the investigators are based in the Calgary Police Service, so we're working very closely with them. We have Major Crime Unit members from the RCMP working along side those officers to ensure that we are exchanging information on an ongoing basis. As to whether one area might change from one target to another, well, as I said, we're assigned these priorities from the investigators. When we change from one area to another, it's not necessarily because of a major development. It's because of another priority identified by the investigators.
Reporter: Cross talk. How big is your search area?
GW Over here. So, how big the search area is? Right now we're looking at a search area that is several square kilometres. And again, we don't know currently if we're going to have to search that entire area. It's based on the priorities from the investigators.
Reporter 1 So you're not looking for bodies in the bushes?
Reporter 2 What is the priority in the particular area where you're at now?
Reporter 3 Yeah.
GW From the search end of things, we may not know, and we probably don't know, that's something that's going to be held with the investigators, with the Calgary Police Service.
Reporter In the other Missing Persons Investigations,members of the public have been used to search large areas. Why is this just police?
GW We're currently looking for evidence in relation to a missing persons case. That's why we're using solely police officers. I could..
Reporter Could I ask a follow up to that question?
GW Certainly, go ahead.
Reporter So, you're not looking for people, you're looking for evidence.
GW We're looking for evidence in relation to the missing persons investigation. That's correct.
Reporter Are you looking for bodies in those search areas?
GW We're looking for any evidence in relation, any information with respect to the missing persons.
Reporter Yesterday, forensics came out onto the scene as well. It was the fire department that came out as well. I'm just curious, was there any evidence whatsoever that came from that?
KB There were items that have been taken from that location. There's items that have been taken from the home. Those have all been sent up to the crime lab. We're working closely with the crime lab. Whether or not that has any relevance to this file, we don't know. It is part of a fairly complex and thorough investigation, so we will seize items that we are not able to identify or, if they're relevant, we don't know. Certainly, as part of that search, and part of being as thorough as possible, because there is water in that area, it is why we deployed the fire department dive team.
Reporter 1 Have you received any results back yet?
Reporter 2 Can you say what any of those items were?
KB No, I cannot.
Reporter 3 Sir, you said earlier..
Reporter 4 Have you received any results back from your testing yet?
KB We have received some items back, or results back, but there are a number of other results that we're waiting to get back from the crime lab. But, we're not going to talk about what we got back, what relevance it may or may not have. We're going to wait 'till we have all the items back and the report back. And then, we'll determine the relevance to the file.
Scrum cross talk
Reporter In terms of priority, where does this case rank when it comes to working on evidence? Does it get put in the queue or does it have priority?
KB No. We're working very closely with they crime lab, and they are expediting the results for us.
Reporter Are we any closer not to finding these people than we were a week ago?
KB The investigation still moves forward. There are a number of leads that we're still following up on, but I won't get into what we're doing, what resources we have deployed specifically, or what items we're following up on. Just to say that it is still moving forward. And, as more information comes in, we will deploy what we need as far as resourcing.
Reporter At this time, is Douglas Garland the only person of interest in your opinion?
KB There are other investigative leads that we are following up on so he is not the only person of interest that we are looking at.
Reporter Did you say he's been released from custody?
KB He is still in custody of remand on another matter.
Reporter Sorry, to clarify, did you say he's not the only person of interest?
KB There is other investigative leads that we're following up on. He's been a person we've brought in on as a person of interest that we have interviewed, but there are other investigative leads that we are following up on.
Reporter cross talk
KB But I won't get into who, what--
Reporter Did you say there are other persons of interest?
KB No, there are investigative leads that we're following up on.
Reporter But no other persons of interest?
KB Not at this time.
Reporter Are there other scenes that you are searching?
KB I'm sorry?
Reporter Are there other scenes that you're searching?
KB At this time no, we have the address on 38th -- I think, yeah-- 38 A Street that's still in our care and control. And then we have the property out in Airdrie. So those are our two primary search areas now.
Reporter How long do you think you'll be out in that search area?
KB As long as it takes. Untill we have a good, thorough search completed and we're satisfied that there's nothing in that property.
Reporter Can you elaborate on the connections between Douglas Garland and the Liknes family?
KB I can't say how long that will take. (turns from one to other reporter) I can tell you there's a loose family connection. I understand that Mr. Garland, his sister is common law with a relative of one of the Liknes family members.
Reporter Were they business partners at any time?
KB I don't know that.
Reporter Sir, last week you said that at least one person was likely injured in a violent altercation. Do you have any more details as to whether or not there was more than one person injured at that house?
KB No. Those are investigative details that I won't get into.
Reporter Have you figured out which of the people who a disappeared were among those injured?
KB I won't get into that.
Reporter Can you tell us how the family members are doing? Are you in constant contact?
KB We are daily. Of course they're devastated by this, but we keep them looped in on all of the investigative things that are moving forward. But, as you can understand, this has been a very traumatic experience and they're devastated by the loss of these family members.
Reporter Sir, I think there's a kind of assumption among a lot of the Calgarians at the water cooler that you guys almost have this thing solved. So they don't need to, that they can get on with "stampeding" and get on with their lives. What do you say to that? Do you still have an Amber Alert going on?
KB Absolutely. And you know we've had, we anticipated there was about 200 people that initially went to that estate sale and only eight-eight have come forward.
Reporter Eighty-eight?
KB Eighty-eight. So we still would like to have folks who were part of that estate sale come forward. We absolutely are asking folks who live in the area, or anybody who may have additional information to come forward. We're also asking people to have a look around your own properties--if there's anything missing or suspicious. Also, if, no matter where you are, if you see anything suspicious, a vehicle, a person, any kind of activity, you absolutely need to call us. So, we are welcoming tips, and still require information from the public.
Reporter Is there any reason why you're focusing solely on that area by the Garland farm?
KB So we asked the public to identify a potential vehicle. We had a potential vehicle identified to that address. So, this is just part of that investigative follow up. It happens to be a very large area, and so that vehicle was seized. And we don't know if the address or the vehicle or anything is going to have relevance to this investigation. But, we have to be thorough and we because of the size of that we have employed our RCMP partners. And it's going to take time to search that area properly.
Reporter These people could be anywhere. They could be east, west, north, south.
KB The investigation and the other things that we're following up on continue. Not all of our resources are stopped and dedicated to waiting until the search is completed on the RCMP properties.
Reporter cross talk
Reporter green Ford trucks are you taking--
KB We're still asking the public if they have--I mean, it's a unique truck in that its colour and its age and the year. If folks know of any other vehicle that potentially could match that description then absolutely give us a call.
Cross talk.
Reporter any other trucks that you're looking at or that you've towed away or--
KB No, not that I'm aware of.
Reporter Do you have doubts that the truck that you have is the right vehicle?
KB No. No. I mean, it's a vehicle that matches the description of the vehicle that we put out. But we don't know if it's related or the actual vehicle that was seen in the CCTV.
Reporter The longer these cases go on, the more difficult they can be to solve.
KB Yeah.
Reporter Is there a possibility that this may never be solved?
KB Well, we are going to dedicate whatever resourcing we need to, and be vigilant, and continue for as long as we need to. So, at this point we're still optimistic and we're hopeful that we're going to find these folks, and we will continue on as we are at this point.
Reporter Do you have any idea when the results will come back? Do you have any idea when'--cause you mentioned some of the testing has been returned today--and do you have any idea about when more of the results will come back?
KB It takes some time to you do analysis like this. So items are being sent up and items are coming back all the time. But, we're not going to get into what has come back or what those results were. And we'll wait 'till all of the items that we've seized come back and we'll determine their relevance to this file.
Reporter When Mr. Garland was in custody, was he helpful at all with this investigation?
KB He was co-operative. Somewhat co-operative, but was co-operating.
Reporter Did he give you any reason to focus on the Airdrie acreage?
KB We are focusing on the Airdrie acreage just because of the vehicle that was attached to that address and has been part of the investigative follow up.
Reporter At this time, does Douglas Garland face any other charges?
KB Not that I'm aware of.
Reporter Inspector. Over the course of the weekend, there was some stuff on social media saying there was a sighting in Brooks. And we haven't been able to get anything more. Was there anything to these sightings?
GW There have been sightings, and when a sighting is reported in RCMP jurisdiction, anywhere in Canada, we'll liaise directly with the Calgary police to ensure that the sighting is appropriately followed up.
Reporter: Are there any particular challenges of searching that area that you might speak to?
GW You know what? As far as searches go it hasn't been bad. The terrain is pretty good there. It's farming country. It's, I think it's 27 degrees out today, so we're taking some really, really careful precautions with our people on the ground up there. To make sure that they have enough food and water to keep them going for as long as it takes, and that they're taking sufficient breaks to the very best job possible that they can.
Reporter Do you have a timeline for how long you expect to be up there?
GW Indefinitely at this point.
Reporter Inspector, you said that earlier that some items were taken from the home as well. Was it the area around the slough that the items were also taken in for analysis procedures?
KB All I can say is that there were a number of items taken during the search with our RCMP partners. I won't get into what those were or where they were found but they have been seized and sent up to the crime lab to see if they're relevant.
Reporter So would it be fair to say that they were found in and around that Airdrie acreage?
KB Sure. Yeah, yeah.
Reporter cross talk.
KB Back, back to your -- Sorry, just one follow up to you're earlier question about the sightings. We have had tips, Amber Alert tips and potential sightings on these three family members right across Canada. So, we have had to follow up on those to see if they were relevant, and if in fact they were, we have not been able to confirm a positive sighting of the three since they disappeared. But the tips continue in right across Canada. Go ahead right here.
Reporter When you do searches like this does it normally expand out from a centre or does it usually start wide and zero into a certain spot? Is there anything unusual about the way you're doing this search?
KB No. In this case we'll do the initial area first. For those that have been in and around the house, you've seen that we've used the Calgary Search and Rescue folks. And, our search area has expanded into the neighbourhood and has expanded again a little bit further into the neighbourhood. So, initially we'll do the scene and the immediate area from potentially have identified possible evidence. In this case, the F 150, and now the search will expand from that. And if we need to expand it further based on the information we have, we will do that. And, we'll continue as far as we need to in this investigation.
Scrum cross talk.
Off camera voice: Just a couple more questions guys. Couple more.
KB Sorry. Hang on.
Reporter Sir, you said earlier you didn't know if there was a business partnership between the two--
KB I do not.
Reporter Do you know if there was any sort of business relationship period.
KB No. The only relationship that I'm aware of is the family connections. Go ahead.
Reporter Can you confirm that blood was found at the scene?
KB No. I won't confirm that.
Reporter Have you gotten any further as to a motive, a potential motive?
KB No.
Reporter Will you have an update for us tomorrow?
KB Well, that depends if there's investigative information that we want to share. We will certainly keep you looped in as things move forward.
Reporter Have you used the helicopter to do night searches?
KB Yes. Yes, we have used our HAWCS helicopter as part of the search.
Reporter Have you used it at night?
KB I don't know. I don't know if we used it at night, but certainly it has that technology. I could follow up on that, but at this point I know that it has been used to search the area.
Reporter Can you elaborate at all on whether there's any sort of connection with this new area that's being searched apart from the fact that it was another investigative lead? Is there any sort of connection with the Garlands family or with the Liknes family?
KB No. The new searches in Airdrie search?
Reporter Yes, well the new property that they're searching--
KB I think it's just an expansion of the general proximity to that initial search area. And it could expand even further from that.
Voice off camera. Thank you.
