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

[Cherchri]

Amber Alert Update:

Update # 4

The Amber Alert remains in effect and police continue to appeal for any information relating to the disappearance of the family members.

The Calgary Police Service and the RCMP continue to search a property in Airdrie in relation to the missing persons investigation.

Investigators would like to emphasize, as mentioned during a press conference yesterday, property owners in rural areas outside Calgary are asked to please check their properties for anything suspicious. Companies who own rural sites, such as well sites, are also asked to please check their properties for anything that may be out of the ordinary.

Police would like to thank the public and the media for their ongoing support and co-operation in what is a complex ongoing investigation

http://www.emergencyalert.alberta.ca/alerts/2014/07/2581.html

Why do you suppose they are only asking people outside of Calgary? Can they perhaps tell from one of the vehicles they have taken in, just how far that vehicle travelled on the nighttime three went missing?

 

[Sillybilly]

Its not unusual for dogs to be used to search landfill. They used them looking for Hayley Dunn, Joshua Summeries and others. Dogs have PPE to keep them safe, just like humans do.

Yeah oushkaboo .. now that you mention it. Just thinking, I've never seen it done in Canada. I did volunteer work with private handlers/dogs who would not have taken the dogs into landfills.

Just an overview of how private handlers feel about putting their dogs into landfills and the challenges and dangers that exist:

http://www.hornbecks.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=94&Itemid=67

So, would be interesting to ask LE why their dogs aren't involved in the search at the Skyhill landfill today. Maybe just the heat is too much?

ETA: So yes, here is a Canadian case where they were used. PLUS, the dog was borrowed from the Calgary Police. Just cuz billy doesn't know doesn't mean it ain't so

http://www.panow.com/node/9282

 

[OutOfTheDarkness]

Why do you suppose they are only asking people outside of Calgary? Can they perhaps tell from one of the vehicles they have taken in, just how far that vehicle travelled on the nighttime three went missing?

Or the mud and oil mixture commonly found on a well site. Pure speculation.

 

[smoothcheetos]

Has MSM picked up this story elsewhere? Other than here, it's not being mentioned in the states.

 

[PrincessButtercup]

View attachment 54520

https://twitter.com/CTVPKrauskopf/status/486605284803354625/photo/1

Pat Krauskopf ‏@CTVPKrauskopf
Police say Douglas Garland "somewhat cooperative" in their investigation. #yyc
1:18 PM - 8 Jul 2014

Why are these sketches always so bad .... ?

 

[Andromeda]

I am an RN in Ontario who does home care. Nurse can only pronounce in cases of expected death in the home and the body is transferred directly from the home to the funeral home.

Further to this CC (I'm from Ontario, too). My dad died at home from lung cancer. My mom had to pre-arrange for a dr to be on-call to come into the home and pronounce time of death (following PRN saying he had passed). Funeral director came to my mom's to take my dad to the funeral home via a hearse. The neighbours got an eyeful is all I will say.

 

[Sillybilly]

Why are these sketches always so bad .... ?

tee hee ^^

:floorlaugh:

 

[otto]

Why do you suppose they are only asking people outside of Calgary? Can they perhaps tell from one of the vehicles they have taken in, just how far that vehicle travelled on the nighttime three went missing?

I think what that means is that the green truck was seen near the crime scene, and there was enough time between the sightings for the driver to have driven to Airdrie and back. That suggests that there could be a 1.5-2 hour gap between the sightings. That suggests that the driver could have gone 1.5-2 hours in any direction out of the city to hide evidence.

I think that people anywhere North and East of the Calgary city limits should have a good look around their property to see if anything has been disturbed. Maybe someone that is in their 50s and who went to school with Douglas Garland could think back to party spots that people used when they were in high school. If Garland is behind this, then it's quite likely that he hid evidence in a place that he is very familiar with, but which is no longer a popular spot.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the family vanished on the night of June 29/30, and Garland wasn't picked up until July 4. If Garland is responsible, that's a lot of time for him make sure that the evidence is well hidden ... buried, burned ... and whatever criminals do to hide their activities. Perhaps the Brooks sighting is a clue and there is something in that area. For example, there is a JBS meat packing plant in Brooks. How accessible is that? I know that's disgusting, but I'm just looking at how people could vanish without a trace and have a connection to the Brooks area.

 

[Mel 1303]

Has MSM picked up this story elsewhere? Other than here, it's not being mentioned in the states.

Good question. How much media coverage is this case getting? There has been frustration at the small number of people who were at the sale coming forward. Would they all know they are being called?

 

[Snoopster]

Why do you suppose they are only asking people outside of Calgary? Can they perhaps tell from one of the vehicles they have taken in, just how far that vehicle travelled on the nighttime three went missing?

I'm surprised that there hasn't been more focus on the river, right near the house....stuff can be dumped there. I presume that they haven't because they have the truck (and any other possible vehicles of interest) on CCTV leaving the area.

 

[bcsoda]

Acreage dwellers in Airdrie might have garbage pickup, but rural residents would not. Rural folk have burning bins.

I have family members who live in rural Alberta. They hire a company to pick up their garbage. As far as I know, the truck then takes it to a dump, but it's possible it takes it to a burning bin...In any case, I'm just saying that it's possible that the Garlands live in rural Alberta, but have a company they've hired to come pick up the garbage. I know it's been mentioned that the neighbours noticed garbage burning (last Wednesday I believe?), but is it possible that they burn some of their garbage, but still have items that have to be taken to the dump?

 

[DaisyBlantyre]

Has MSM picked up this story elsewhere? Other than here, it's not being mentioned in the states.

I just received a call from my friend in Texas who told me she's been following updates online since she heard it on her news.

 

[Sillybilly]

Another thing to keep in mind is that the family vanished on the night of June 29/30, and Garland wasn't picked up until July 4. If Garland is responsible, that's a lot of time for him make sure that the evidence is well hidden ... buried, burned ... and whatever criminals do to hide their activities. Perhaps the Brooks sighting is a clue and there is something in that area. For example, there is a JBS meat packing plant in Brooks. How accessible is that? I know that's disgusting, but I'm just looking at how people could vanish without a trace and have a connection to the Brooks area.

<rsbm>

Storage facility? In DG's history there was evidence seized from a "rented facility" in Crossfield, AB.

 

[bcsoda]

I'm surprised that there hasn't been more focus on the river, right near the house....stuff can be dumped there. I presume that they haven't because they have the truck (and any other possible vehicles of interest) on CCTV leaving the area.

I've house sat in the area just on the other side of the Elbow river (Edison Crescent SW). I'm not sure how deep the water actually is there, I've seen people wading through it just a little past that sharp curve that it makes (so the south road of Edison Crescent). I guess that's another thing to take into consideration - as far as I know that's a highly accessed part of the river, so bodies dumped there may be found pretty easily.

I would also think that if someone was dragging bodies through the wooded area, even if it was on a path, there would be obvious drag marks. Though I guess that's assuming there's only one perpetrator, but even with two I believe there would be some stumbling and weird imprints.

 

[otto]

I've been reading about the meat packing plant in Brooks. It was built in the 1970s and by the 1980s, many single young men arrived in Brooks to work at the plant. Although I'm putting together info that I'm getting from reading a lot of different websources, one of the problems that resulted was drug abuse, like methamphetamine. Douglas Garland could have ties to Brooks through his meth lab activities in the 1980s. He could be very familiar with the backroads between Airdrie and Brooks.

 

[Wondergirl]

It's possible that the company did make a lot of money, but at the same time, when oil/gas exploration tax loopholes were tightened in roughly 2011, the company didn't feel like paying taxes. The $800,000 company debt is owed to Canadians. Based on comments made by the former COO of Alvin Liknes' company, it sounds like the company didn't feel like paying contractors either. In fact, it looks like the company pushed the boundaries as far as they could go in terms of paying themselves and leaving everyone else high and dry.

In addition to the company that recently declared bankruptcy, there are several other companies connected to Alvin Liknes that were created and delisted in the last six years. I would not be at all surprised to learn that money was transferred to those other companies before they were delisted in order to hide assets ... but that remains to be seen. Everything points in that direction at this time.

From what little we know so far about the companies where Alvin was President, something about it strikes me as shell companies that obtain money from investors and then the money simply disappears. Alvin, his wife, and his son in law have all declared bankruptcy. It almost looks like a strategy that the family uses too easily.

Good post.

The poor boy. Breaks my heart.

 

[Wondergirl]

Why are these sketches always so bad .... ?

Well, this one is not as good as the other one.

 

[ResearchQuest]

One thing that has always creeped me out, was the fact the grandparents' pictures have that 'mug shot' quality to them.

I was thinking they were passport photos.

 

[otto]

Good question. How much media coverage is this case getting? There has been frustration at the small number of people who were at the sale coming forward. Would they all know they are being called?

I think the family estimated that there were 200 people at the sale. It's possible that 2-3 people came together, and one of the three reported to police. That could explain the difference between the estimated number and the number that have come forward.

 

[gnsndr33]

Has MSM picked up this story elsewhere? Other than here, it's not being mentioned in the states.

I'm in Louisiana and only seen it once on the news. That's what brought me here to read on it.