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

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It's important to note that JO did not say that DG showed up at the sale. Apparently a truck like his was in the neighbourhood that evening and during the time the crime occurred, according to LE. Why drive all the way from Airdrie to NOT visit someone?

I expect that DG's parents can't return home until the search warrant has been fully executed, but I wonder where they were on Sunday-Monday night? What was DG's alibi?

Re: the bank card in MKH's name: keep in mind that bank cards have an expiry on them. If it were an old card it would no longer be valid and DG could not face a charge. It sounds like it's his current card though, based on press reports that he was charged with either using or possessing (accounts vary) stolen ID on the 4th.

Tomorrow's revelations are going to be very, very interesting.
 
I thought it was only the grandparents with the bankruptcy issues and not NO's parents?? Do you have a link to the info about RO going bankrupt?

It was during a press conference that it was confirmed that the grandmother and the child's father had both declared bankruptcy in the past two years. This is new information that the grandfather had declared bankruptcy three weeks prior to his disappearance. The link is somewhere in the last few days, where the press conference comments were transcribed. It might have been Wendisan that transcribed the comments ... sorry, don't have a handy link.
 
Motive is money. They sold their house. Two new properties were bought to retire to. But the family was vague about their plans so maybe the AL and KL were on the outs and the family just wasn't made aware of it.. or maybe KL was hoping that selling everything and moving on (second chance) would change the dynamics of the marriage. For all anyone knows, AL might have been syphoning money from the businesses he was associated with. Maybe Al just didn't want to have to share what was left over? Just walk away from all the bad business ($800k in taxes owed, etc.) and just forget it all and 'disappear'. But he wouldn't be able to do that (divorce means split 50/50). Maybe he was feeling greedy.

Hopefully we'll find out and Nathan will be back with his family soon.

Alvin had other oil/gas companies at the same time that he had this recently bankrupt company. There was Vecto resources (he was president, but there was really no company behind the name), there was Blue Sky, and there was a housing company. Companies were set up and delisted over the last few years. It's quite possible that money was siphoned off to the other companies, or paid to them (meaning he paid himself), and then the companies vanished, leaving the company that did have employees without the resources to pay contractors and taxes.
 
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.

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.
 
My bank card, issued in Calgary does not have my name on it. I had it replaced right at the bank ... I worked in banking for years and our major bank issued cards right at the branch so no names on the bank card.

Sorry tried to link as a reply but it didn't work :-(

Make sure you click on Reply With Quote instead of just Reply. :) HTH
 
Not directed at anyone is particular, but I get extremely uncomfortable with the discussion surrounding AL hurting KL or taking NO. LE has clearly stated that they do not think that is the case. Who knows...they could be wrong and focusing in the wrong direction - but I think about family reading these boards and how I would feel if I were in their shoes. I agree 100% that this has something to do with money though.

Another thing I find frustrating as a relative newbie (enough that it compelled me to post) is people asking questions that have been answered very recently in the thread. We're in our 5th thread of this case, so I don't believe people should be expected to ready everything (that would be crazy), but it might be helpful if people read maybe 5 pages back from where they join the conversation. Just a suggestion.

And that came off a lot more anal and stick-in-the-mudish than I intended! I think this is an amazing forum and people do a lot of great research!
 
His parents moved to the acreage in 1973, when he was 13 years old. Maybe he attended a high school in Airdrie?

I found POI's family still living in NE Calgary in 1974 (Ancestry electoral lists) They lived around 84th avenue and 52nd street in the SaddleRidge Community. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddle_Ridge,_Calgary
Prior to moving to the NE, they lived near downtown in the southwest and Western Canada high school would have been his school.

Perhaps they bought the Airdrie acreage, and didn't move until POI finished high school? There were no high schools in the NE at that time, so POI would have had to travel to the NW, he could have attended Sir Winston Churchill or Crescent Heights high school if he didn't travel downtown to Western Canada.
 
Board members were concerned by his “20-plus years” of property offences and contributing “mental issues,”

A Postmedia News story from the drugs trial noted that the meth cook, as drug makers are called, had studied science at the University of Alberta but was expelled after being caught cheating.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/national/Blatchford+Douglas+Garland+person+interest+Calgary/10012209/story.html

Well, that's interesting. It certainly is fleshing out his character.
 
There might be drugs in Calgary, but that doesn't mean that there are mob connections, or drug connections, to oil industry executives and oil company head offices.

There are probably mob connections in every major city in North America but they could have also been abducted by aliens for all we know.
 
No that is incorrect. If your spouse goes bankrupt you do not have to file with them. As long as you haven't co-signed anything or opened up joint credit, each person is financially separate. My understanding is that ONLY KL and ONLY RO went bankrupt. Otherwise the press would have been talking about a "joint bankruptcy", not individuals separate bankruptcies.

Agreed SnooperDuper, and a business Bankruptcy is different than a personal Bankruptcy unless the house was connected to it.
 
SnooperDuper, I am agreeing with you. I'm not saying that JO had to file with RO. I'm talking about the fallout of having declared bankruptcy down the road. When filling in applications, etc., for i.e., a mortgage. One spouse may have excellent credit, the other crappy for 5 to 7 years as it is glaringly apparent to the lender when they look at someone's credit history and seeing none, that they are a huge risk. In this instance, an accountant at that which makes it even worse in the lender's eyes. It's the bankrupt spouse's credit rating that hurts the union "overall" when trying to apply/get credit afterwards. Even something as simple as a rent application can be denied and oftentimes, a cosigner is requested. I know of one family who had to have one of the dad's actually take out the mortgage on their home and they paid him (who then paid the mortgage). Both didn't declare bankruptcy, just the husband did, but the bank didn't care they were flat out denied. That's what I mean by "default the other person..."
 
Motive is money. They sold their house. Two new properties were bought to retire to. But the family was vague about their plans so maybe the AL and KL were on the outs and the family just wasn't made aware of it.. or maybe KL was hoping that selling everything and moving on (second chance) would change the dynamics of the marriage. For all anyone knows, AL might have been syphoning money from the businesses he was associated with. Maybe Al just didn't want to have to share what was left over? Just walk away from all the bad business ($800k in taxes owed, etc.) and just forget it all and 'disappear'. But he wouldn't be able to do that (divorce means split 50/50). Maybe he was feeling greedy.

Hopefully we'll find out and Nathan will be back with his family soon.

Totally agree that $$$$$ is the motive.
 
JMO but the oil and gas business is a mainstay regarding the economy of Alberta, many large companies buy the smaller junior companies out if they have something to offer. I have relatives in Calgary involved within this industry. and I can't figure this bankruptcy out.

Just like your post, back in 2011 the President of the company said this:

AV: What do you see for Winter Petroleum in five years?
McCowan: We’ll have merged or totally recapitalized by that time. We won’t be a small company anymore. We’ll be part of a much larger entity. But in five years, I believe gas prices will be very robust. It’s the clean energy and I think green credits will be worth something more than gas prices in the future. If gas prices stay at current levels in five years, we won’t be around
.

http://albertaventure.com/2011/04/small-players-big-issues/
 
Something else about the banking industry in Canada, our banks are heavily regulated. They are not privately owned like down in the US. You could have your mortgage and business loans/lines of credit, credit cards with one bank and your payment history, even how you pay your heating bills, are all on-line and documented and accessible via a credit check. When I got my separation agreement, the first thing I did was go to the credit bureau to have my file separated from my estranged husband. The clerk said it was the best advice I got. He could see my husband defaulting on his cards and car payment, bills...
 
I found them still living in NE Calgary in 1974 (Ancestry electoral lists) They lived around 84th avenue and 52nd street in the SaddleRidge Community. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddle_Ridge,_Calgary
Prior to moving to the NE, they lived near downtown in the southwest and Western Canada high school would have been his school.

Perhaps they bought the Airdrie acreage, and didn't move until POI finished high school? There were no high schools in the NE at that time, so he would have had to travel to the NW, he could have attended Sir Winston Churchill or Crescent Heights high school if he didn't travel downtown to Western Canada.

If he lived on the acreage for High School which would have been grades 9-12 in Airdrie he would have likely attended George Mcdougall High School as it was the only high school in Airdrie at the time. Bert Church wasn't built until 1983. If he lived in downtown Calgary prior to living in the NE he wouldn't have attended Western Canada as it was a grade 10-12 school. If he lived in the NE he likely would have attended James Fowler High School, it was built in 1962 and was the designated school for most of that part the NE (I moved to NE Calgary in 1979) until Lester B Pearson was built sometime in the 1990s.
 
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