Keith Hildebrand, the commander of the Quesnel detachment until he retired last year, also finds it frustrating that he could never find the solution to the murder of Deena Braem, 16, who was last seen alive hitchhiking on Sept. 25, 1999. Her body was recovered three months later, on Dec. 10, northwest of Quesnel near Pinnacles Provincial Park.
Hildebrand said the unsolved murder file was already gathering dust when he arrived as detachment commander. He oversaw the Braem investigation and brought in detectives with the Surrey-based Integrated Homicide Investigation Team. They thoroughly went through the file and tried to find any tips that were not probed.
We had some good leads but they ended in another dead end, explained the 58-year-old retired officer, who now runs the community policing office in Quesnel.
They are investigating tips, he added about the state of the current investigation.
Hildebrand estimated that over the years, more than $1 million has been spent investigating Braems murder.
It was frustrating for him, when he retired in 2008, that the case remained unsolved.
It bugs me the most of all my [36] years of service. It was like a loose end you leave behind, Hildebrand said.
Usually, when I took on a file, it had a good result to it, he added.
It was a frustrating investigation for everybody, including her parents, he recalls. It still bothers me.
http://www.globaltvbc.com/world/Possible+Highway+Tears+suspects+haunt+detectives/2336915/story.html
http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=509d57bc-c4fb-408e-a117-b489499ce725&k=55114
http://www.globaltvbc.com/story.html?id=2321310