Only my opinion, as MI appears to have been living somewhat of a double life, his family probably still doesn’t know a lot of factual information about his past. If he wasn’t going to SAIT, what was he doing in Calgary and how was he financing his lifestyle after he lost his job in the oilfield? Who did he hang out with and what had he told his current friends and acquaintances? By this time hopefully police will know some of the details through tracking such as cellphone and financial activity over the months prior to his disappearance. But I suspect they’re withholding all information from the general public and his family as well, given his present missing person status with no proof of death.
But I can’t think of one other reason IM would be untruthful with his family other than he was protecting them from what he was involved in. Unfortunately in this province of Alberta and the loss of hundreds of thousands of oilpatch jobs, gangs have continued to flourish by taking advantage of drug users who can no longer afford to pay the price of using. Were payments on the truck up to date for example, rent being paid or was IM in a desperate financial situation and was he the sort to be too proud to seek help from his family?
Running drugs from the coast to the Prairie provinces is known to be an activity to pay off debt to gangs yet it’s a very high risk “job” if nabbed by LE or discovered by a rival gang. Carrying around numerous cellphones is often a red flag of criminal involvement. However that doesn’t explain why IM’s truck was burned in the location where it was found. I never forget the saying which I have good reason to believe is 100% true — there’s no means to escape gang affiliation other than death, although I suppose that doesn’t exclude the possibility of faking it. One really odd aspect about the reported discovery of the truck - what’s the point of torching it while placing the contents, identifiable objects, connected to IM outside on the ground? That seems a total contradiction in terms of identifiability. As the area is snow covered during the winter, once spring comes I’d think additional professional ground and water searches are planned to take place.
I can sort of relate to what this family and friends must be going through and how engaging in any action, desperately hoping it might yield some clue is better than standing still in the face of total darkness, knowing nothing at all.
I have great empathy for them as well.
