Deceased/Not Found Canada - Alvin, 66, & Kathy Liknes, 53, Nathan O'Brien, 5, Calgary, 30 June 2014 - #5

[toastburner]

But why virtually no media coverage/tweets today like there were yesterday? They were all over every move yesterday… or maybe it's just that our websleuthers are not reposting them today for some reason…

I am wondering the same thing, appletree. Are the media people just not there at the search areas, are they being kept away, have they been told to be quiet or is today's search considered 'same old, same old' (from a media perspective) and not worth tweeting about?

 

[Eldrick]

Good points, but if you add the concept that property has a family connection and is a known residence of a convict, and there's missing persons in need of urgent assistance, I'd think a search warrant would be granted.

Probable cause in Canada exists where 'credible probability replaces suspicion'. I don't think any of what you are alluding to here would be valuable in obtaining a search warrant - meaning replacing suspicion with credible probability.

 

[Carol]

Now if (suppose) DG was the driver in that accident and somehow managed to escape, and suppose officials never found the driver who caused the accident (say the license plate was either not there or unrecognizable), then he would be able to fake MKH's ID without a legal link.

In short, however unlikely you may think it is, it's not impossible that DG is involved in MKH's death. It's possible either way until we have sufficient evidence to dismiss one.

Yes this angle is a particularly juicy coincidence.

Unless someone has newer info, I think we have two pieces of contradicting evidence on this topic:

1 - National Post report checked with MH's elderly mother who said she didn't know DG
http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/0...than-obrien-charged-with-possessing-false-id/
"Matt’s Hartley’s mother, June, said the family didn’t know Douglas Garland. Reached at her nursing home, she declined to speak further about her dead son."


2 - NY Daily News article that links DG's crash with the crash that killed MH.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/wor...ents-charged-identity-theft-article-1.1857389
"Garland — whose rap sheet includes busts for drug trafficking and possession of stolen property — was later charged with stealing the identity of a 14-year-old boy who died after Garland fell asleep at the wheel and smashed into a car in 1980."

Neither sources are particularly strong.

For #1, she could be confused or unwilling to discuss. And for #2, NY Daily News is not exactly known for impeccable accuracy, let alone having a scoop on what would be a peripheral story for them.

For lack of a better weighting system, I feel like these cancel each other out.

If I were forced to pick one, I'd say #1 is the more credible and that NY Daily News made an accidental conclusion jump. But the whole back story of this theory remains tantalizing.

 

[skibaboo]

Bill Macfarlane ‏@CTVBMacfarlane 10m
#CPS #RCMP appear to be packing up #Airdrie search scene including acreage. Say seized some items but won't say what or signif #AmberAlert

https://twitter.com/CTVBMacfarlane

(I'm assuming that last word is an abbreviation of 'significant')

 

[Carol]

It's a pretty extensive search. Even with a family connection and his drug offence and identity theft it seems a bit much. Especially if they aren't finding anything. Have they even confirmed this is the same truck?)

Except the search warrant was done last Friday, there would be no way to know that 5 days later "they aren't finding anything".

 

[peony27]

https://twitter.com/mlumsden770/

If you look at this twitter there are some posts from today's search. Looks like they are searching a huge area today so it might be slow going.

 

[Carol]

You are very right about getting a search warrant. Police have to specify what they are looking for as well.

It's a simple matter of copy and pasting a gigantic list of things they might be interested in regarding the disappearance of the 3 family members.

 

[Kittymama]

So...I'm trying to figure out what I can post without getting in trouble or having it deleted. I found an old article from 1982 about an attempted bank robbery. I don't think I can link it because it is on a pay site (newspaperarchive.com), and I can't take a screenshot because for some reason, it won't let me view the actual article right now (just the text). The culprit had the same name as our POI, but different age, although that might possibly have been a typo. If it WAS him, I thought it showed again that he is motivated by money.

 

[KMouse]

It doesn't help when the RCMP closed three of it's labs last year.

Blood typing is quick (I've done it in a lab in school). DNA is not. If they could tell that there were different blood types they would have an idea how many victims they were dealing with.

 

[kittymeow]

IMO the police have way more information than they are letting on. There's something in the footage they aren't sharing. In order to obtain a search Warrent in canada you have to have reasonable grounds to believe an offence took place and reason to believe evidence of the crime is at that location. I don't believe LE could convince a judge to sign off on an information to obtain a search Warrent with the only grounds being a green truck drove around the subdivision where the individuals went missing.

Nothing was ever said about AL's truck. I thought I read it had muddy tires and was taken in for evidence?? Correct me if I'm wrong.

They definitely have more info than they are sharing. They basically said as much at the press conference this afternoon.

Responding to the bold. At the latest press conference they said they had a lab that was working quickly with them on all evidence. They have already received some back. I am assuming the evidence in the house would be the first to come back. So if it is blood they probably know who's it was.

Yup they said that the crime lab has put a priority on anything related to this case and that they've already received results for multiple things.

 

[peony27]

It doesn't help when the RCMP closed three of it's labs last year.

Blood typing is quick (I've done it in a lab in school). DNA is not. If they could tell that there were different blood types they would have an idea how many victims they were dealing with.

If it was #1 on the priority list how long would it take to get DNA evidence back?

 

[KMouse]

It's a simple matter of copy and pasting a gigantic list of things they might be interested in regarding the disappearance of the 3 family members.

Like what?

 

[supernovaNic]

So...I'm trying to figure out what I can post without getting in trouble or having it deleted. I found an old article from 1982 about an attempted bank robbery. I don't think I can link it because it is on a pay site (newspaperarchive.com), and I can't take a screenshot because for some reason, it won't let me view the actual article right now (just the text). The culprit had the same name as our POI, but different age, although that might possibly have been a typo. If it WAS him, I thought it showed again that he is motivated by money.

Hi, I think someone posted about it in the last thread. I don't remember all that was shared.

Edited to add: I tried to search for it using "robbery" and 1982 in that thread, but nothing came up. I know I saw it. Maybe it was removed? Or more likely I didn't search correctly. Sorry, not much help.

 

[ztzt]

According to the 2005 court record involving his unemployment insurance claim (I attached the complete record with this post as attached PDF file), it seems Douglas Garland had at least two breakdowns in his life up to that time: the first one about 1 year after enrolling in medical school, another one in 1997. It's reasonable to assume one of these breakdowns (probably the first) was triggered by that traumatizing horrific car crash caused by him falling asleep at the wheel. It would be interesting to find out what caused the other (presumably 1997) breakdown.

I expect his family members (parents and sister, all living and well) could shed some light on his breakdowns. Even if they didn't know the cause, they could have sensed his state of mind, given that he seems to have kept in touch with them all these years.

 

[ResearchQuest]

"Police “hopeful” trio will be found alive; will continue to search Airdrie acreage indefinitely"

http://www.660news.com/2014/07/08/p...tinue-to-search-airdrie-acreage-indefinitely/

 

[Deleted member 117120]

In light of where IMO LE is presently in the investigation, which to me appears as though LE has very little to no evidence on DG both physical and intel wise at the farm or in the green truck that was seized juxtaposition that with what AL said in his telephone interview about DG and AL connections, I cant help but shake the feeling they have the wrong perp. That is not to say DG is not accountable for whatever offences he has committed recently with ID issues but I don't get the sense he was involved anymore. This could be why he has been only (somewhat helpful) paraphrasing because he hasn't given LE what they want to hear because maybe he has nothing to offer.
So I am going to throw this out there but I think maybe LE has wasted time on DG and the crime and criminal is something or someone different then what we thought for a while with DG.

 

[DaisyBlantyre]

Really what we know, other than the fact that there's a familial connection and his truck was nearby, what else do they have on DG that they aren't telling us? I worry either they are barking up the wrong tree...for lack of other leads to follow...or this man has simply managed to cover his tracks.

This case is SO bizarre...motives seem entirely elusive but i bet money is somewhere in there.

Sadly we have/have had so many bizarre murders/missing people/crimes cases in Calgary it could have it's own forum. :sigh:

 

[Kittymama]

Hi, I think someone posted about it in the last thread. I don't remember all that was shared.

Edited to add: I tried to search for it using "robbery" and 1982 in that thread, but nothing came up. I know I saw it. Maybe it was removed? Or more likely I didn't search correctly. Sorry, not much help.

'Twas me. I must have done something wrong in the way I posted it.

 

[Kittymama]

I don't think so...I think it's just that WE don't know what they know.

 

[*Laura]

"Police “hopeful” trio will be found alive; will continue to search Airdrie acreage indefinitely"

http://www.660news.com/2014/07/08/p...tinue-to-search-airdrie-acreage-indefinitely/

I find this odd too. I'm no expert in search warrants but I have written some up for a different agency. Whenever we prepared ours we had to but a reasonable timeframe on them. "Indefinitely" wouldn't cut it... Unless of course the owners are voluntarily letting the property be searched.