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

[Kittymama]

If there is someone at the desk recording names and plates of people entering landfill sites, then this is not about running down a licence plate ... we know the perp didn't go to all the landfill sites to hide his involvement in a crime. This is about checking waste disposal. I tried to research where Airdrie has waste disposal, but it was all about being green. Surely Aidrie garbage goes somewhere - perhaps the Spyhill Landfill.

I think there should be a search on rural properties and 1970s party spots between Calgary, Airdrie, Brooks.

Why 1970s party spots?

 

[otto]

Why 1970s party spots?

1970s spots because Douglas Garland was born in 1960 in Calgary. In 1973, when he was a teenager, his parents built a house on 40 acres NE of Airdrie Alberta in the district of Rockyview. In the 1970s, Garland was either a science nerd, or a meth trafficker. There was a meth problem in Brooks in the early 1980s due to a high population of single young males that immigrated into the beef industry ... nothing better to do than get high.

Garland's grades were good enough to get him into the University of Alberta. In the 1970s, a 65% high school score was admittance to university. He completed two years in the Faculty of Science with grades that warranted early admission into the faculty of Medicine undergraduate program. In that following year, his first year in the undergraduate program in Medical school, he was caught cheating and expelled. In court documents related to his legal history, he claims that he had a breakdown and he also has ADHD. Was the breakdown due to the ADHD, or was it a plain old break down where what happened?

What did Douglas Garland do after expulsion from university that looked like a breakdown, and what role did ADHD have in that breakdown?

 

[otto]

Meant to say: Garland was a teenager in the 1970s. Every high school had a couple of party spots that were the place to be on a Friday night ... bonfires, kegs ... even the nerds knew where the party was, even if they didn't show up. Between 1970 and today, the spots have changed, but I think that if Garland is responsible, he chose a familiar spot that he knows is no longer popular ... a place that only locals would know about ... like a teenage hangout in the 1970s.

We don't know much about him. Did he like gaming? Was he the gardener at the property, planting tomatoes in the greenhouse? What did he do all day? Were his parents worried about him? Did the family know that there was a conflict between the victims and the person of interest?

 

[Carol]

She is GOOD at what she does...not sure how she sleeps at night!!

Everyone deserves a good defense, that's the foundation of a civilized justice system. Even the guilty should be convicted by a fair and thorough process.

Isn't that interesting. For anybody else up on simple fraud charges they wouldn't have this kind of lawyer.

True but anybody found with a fake ID wouldn't be arrested either...

 

[otto]

I think what appears to be a shadow in front is actually from the fall off light of the headlights. The headlights appear to be on to me.

What is falling off the headlights? Even if the headlights are on, there is a long shadow on the ground. Where is the street light that is casting shadow? What type of shadow would be cast by the sun if it were shortly after 4AM?

 

[otto]

Everyone deserves a good defense, that's the foundation of a civilized justice system. Even the guilty should be convicted by a fair and thorough process.



True but anybody found with a fake ID wouldn't be arrested either...

This fake ID had history, and although there was no connection to the missing persons, that fake ID plays a role in the detention of the person of interest.
Who is the registered owner of the vehicle ... the green truck? Is it Douglas Garland, or Matthew Hartley? Was the truck in Garland's name, but he had Hartley paperwork in his wallet, or was there current paperwork, like a bankcard, in the name of Hartley. I can't help thinking that Canada seems really sloppy with paperwork.

 

[otto]

How did this happen?

Douglas Garland pled guilty to using the identity of a deceased person. He admitted to requesting a social insurance number under an assumed name to avoid consequences for criminal offences. Those charges were excused and he served 6 months of a 39 month sentence for manufacturing methamphetamine. Drugs was the more serious charge, so he pled to minor charges of identify theft.

Why wasn't the identity of the person he impersonated (Matthew Hartley) frozen by the federal government in 1999 when the identity theft was discovered? The provincial and federal government had court documents proving that someone had stolen the identity and the person was deceased ... why did the gov't leave that Matthew Hartley identity open for bank accounts and paperwork in 2014 ... 34 years after he and his sister were killed in a car crash (he was 14, she was 12)?

Did Garland, or his family, or his extended family, have any contact with the parents of Matthew and Jill Hartley at any time between 1980 and 2014?

 

[Carol]

Garland's grades were good enough to get him into the University of Alberta. In the 1970s, a 65% high school score was admittance to university. He completed two years in the Faculty of Science with grades that warranted early admission into the faculty of Medicine undergraduate program.

Do we actually know that he completed 2 years undergraduate plus a 3rd year (which constitutes first year of medical school)?

You'd have to have spectacular grades plus incredible extracurricular resume to follow that fast of a path into medical school. My guess is he was attending general classes which anyone can call "pre-medicine" and was out after 1 year.

 

[Carol]

What is falling off the headlights? Even if the headlights are on, there is a long shadow on the ground. Where is the street light that is casting shadow? What type of shadow would be cast by the sun if it were shortly after 4AM?

I originally speculated about whether this frame is from the evening or the morning. Although the shadows some are seeing are barely perceptible, if you agree there is a shadow, then the direction suggests this is early morning.

Are the headlights on? I can't tell, but on 1990's vehicles, tail lights would typically glow when the headlights are on. It could also be brakes applied approaching the corner.

Early morning in this region you there's first an overall glow of light before the sun crosses the horizon. This sky glow isn't directional, and thus doesn't create distinct shadows.

We can also compare with Google car shadow which is a similar direction but more distinct and in a slightly different azimuth. Google car is clearly a morning shot based on the long shadows falling west. Probably early morning too, because closer to midday the shadows would be shorter until they cross over. We'd also expect Google car to be driving during regular business hours, whereas the truck we are assuming a 10pm to 10am constraint.

So just guessing here, but based on google car being early to mid-morning, truck picture could be *very* early morning. I'll just wild guess it at 5-7 am.

Seeing the unique truck during the dark hours and then again at 6 am has to raise questions.

 

[otto]

Do we actually know that he completed 2 years undergraduate plus a 3rd year (which constitutes first year of medical school)?

You'd have to have spectacular grades plus incredible extracurricular resume to follow that fast of a path into medical school. My guess is he was attending general classes which anyone can call "pre-medicine" and was out after 1 year.

What we know is that he was in his first year of medical school at the U of A presumably after he completed two years of undergraduate science (1979). We know that the U of A has an fast track undergraduate program. Normally, it takes two years undergraduate in a BSc program in chemistry or biology with good grades to be accepted. Garland claimed to have a BSc and claimed that a year of medical school pretty much meant that he would have a BSc ... except he was caught cheating, so his admittance to the undergraduate medical school program came under question. He was expelled ... equivalent to having not been admitted to medical school ... meaning ... two years undergraduate and expulsion for cheating does not add up to a BSc.

I suspect that Douglas Garland's academic record reads as academic dishonesty and expulsion after two year of university. I doubt his fast track acceptance to medical school is anything more than a vacant memory.

 

[Carol]

On the other hand how could he afford a $500 an hour criminal lawyer without assistance from his presumably wealthy parents?

I wouldn't be surprised if lawyers would work without a retainer on the presumption that over time they can bill the government certain amounts for time spent on the case.

 

[appletree729]

If this is against the rules or inappropriate in any way to post, mods feel free to remove….

But this case has touched me so deeply that I wrote a song about it the other day - thinking about all those who are searching together - the family, LE, websleuthers Anyway - here are the lyrics - maybe they will help encourage everyone to keep it up and to not stop looking for clues and to continue to hope…

Finding Superman

Heart shaped leaves rain down,
fields whisper of things not found.
poison deeds don't win, clean hands do...
quest for good doesn't yield,
we will find you.

Night, it swiftly falls,
another day too long.
Candles glow, green lines the avenue.
becoming one body,
finding you.

We still hope.
We still search,
for the good and miracles that Love gives.

Take our hands,
take our hearts.
Send us rainbows to shine in finding Superman.

There is power in this space.
Rips through the dark, shines with Grace.
Incomplete and pained for the lost,
waiting to be whole,
aching for us.

We still hope.
We still search,
for the good and miracles that Love gives.

Take our hands,
take our hearts.
Send us rainbows to shine in finding Superman.

don't give up, don't give up, don't give up, don't give up...

 

[Carol]

I don't believe that Douglas Garland is being held on trumped-up charges. I'm certain that he was carrying, or had in his possession, ID for Matthew Hartley on July 4, 2014, even though the Canadian gov't should have frozen that person's records when he was first charged with identity theft in 1999. I believe those charges were swept under the carpet to focus on the drug conviction.

The charges aren't trumped up, but they are trumped. Garland was picked up on Friday and it wasn't until Saturday that he could be processed. By Sunday, he'd had his 24 hours and demanded to be released. At that moment, he was charged with the false ID. That held him over until Monday morning. On Monday morning, the crown asked for 48 hours, two days, to prepare. That brought us to Wednesday, when the crown laid more charges, this time related to a bank card presumably under the same false ID. That bought the crown two more days to gather evidence. This time, the person of interest must prove that he has a home. Otherwise, he will not be released. Does that mean that his parents are not claiming him, giving him a place to sleep? What about his sister? Her common law husband's father is missing, as is his step-nephew. I don't suppose there are a lot of people stepping up to take in the "person of interest" ... under the circumstances.

I would say (and actually did say so way back) that the charges are obviously contrived as a way of holding the POI. As you aptly describe, POI's passage through the justice system for a fake ID is taking far longer than it would for someone without the same context of being a POI in a high profile active disappearance.

I also question the "possession" of the fake ID's. Some here are assuming POI was walking around flashing these ID's. While that's possible, they could just as well have been found in a shoebox on the property and hadn't been touched in years. That could be construed as "possession" if there were a need to find charges to hold someone.

 

[Carol]

What we know is that he was in his first year of medical school at the U of A presumably after he completed two years of undergraduate science

Can you refresh me to the source of that? I recall seeing conflicting reports that he was in his first year of medical school versus just first year of "pre" medical school.

Garland claimed to have a BSc

He lied.

and claimed that a year of medical school pretty much meant that he would have a BSc

He lied about this too, so why are we believing him about having spent time in med school?

I doubt his fast track acceptance to medical school is anything more than a vacant memory.

I think "fast track acceptance to medical school" has yet to be confirmed as factual.

 

[Carol]

We're in a slow news time here before the police and reporters get to work.

So I'll fill that by pointing out what a different tone this case would have today if everything were the same - except there was no grandchild Nathan missing.

Think about it. For one thing, the odd disappearance might have taken longer to be discovered. And the disappearance of two adults who had sold everything and wound down their business in recent days... that's has a lot of different assumptions.

 

[Snoopster]

Regarding source of info that he was in medical school, see the case document attached, point #2 under Reasons for Judgement.

[2] Mr. Garland is in his mid-forties. He suffers from attention deficient disorder (ADD). It was clear that he was agitated throughout the trial, but it was also apparent that he was an intelligent individual. Mr. Garland attended medical school in Alberta for one year until he suffered a breakdown. He also seems to have been traumatized by causing what he described as a horrific accident due to falling asleep at the wheel.

http://caselaw.canada.globe24h.com/0/0/federal/tax-court-of-canada/2005/03/03/garland-v-m-n-r-2005-tcc-176.shtml

Of course it's not clear that anyone investigated his claim of being in medical school, however that point is worded in a much more definitive way than the accident, where the court uses the terms "seems to have" and "what he described as". However the court believed he had been in med school.

 

[Shags0sh]

<rsbm>

Hi Shags0sh and Welcome.

Do you mean you think JO did not divulge this info to LE, or that LE did not divulge this info to the public?

If you mean that LE was aware of the info but did not divulge it, it was early in the case and they would not want to say anything that could be inflammatory to a perp who may be listening when 3 peoples lives were in the perp(s) hands.

As for JO not divulging info, we don't know that she didn't.

Not too sure if I'm doing this properly? My gut feeling and opinion are JO held information back from LE. I realize LE holds information from the public back, but believe LE were initially led to believe there weren't any motives for this case. I just hope NO is safe and sound somewhere, as well as KL and AL. I don't think the fact that AL's one business ceased operations on June 24 and was owing money doesn't somehow play into this. Tensions could have been running high at home too. Do we know if he had a short fuse? I also find it odd we haven't heard friends/co-workers and family attest to AL and KL's character. Just thinking out loud.

 

[Snoopster]

Kinda OT .. is it me or is the search feature not working? I tried earlier today to find posts by dangerross, nothing came up yet others found it. Just now I searched for Snoopster's post with the timeline detail and all that comes up for them in the past week is their posts in the ROFO thread. I KNOW Snoopster would not only be posting in that thread in the past week.

Anyway Snoopster, if you're reading .. please direct me to your post that was made yesterday (Wednesday) with timeline info in it. Thanks !!

I'm reading SB...but I don't have time to look and don't recall off the top of my head which post you are referring to. I haven't figured out the new format here and I'm late for work so have to head off now. I'll check tonight if someone else hasn't already solved your puzzle.

Snoop

 

[Coldpizza]

New thread, please move on over. This one will close in about 5 minutes.

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...ALERT-Nathan-O-Brien-5-Calgary-30-June-2014-6

 

[Andromeda]

Calgarians can correct me about today... my friend lived in Calgary back in the 90's and she said that people would point at you if you jay-walked and that police did, in fact, ticket people for jay walking. I'm not surprised to hear "ticketing failure to yield a pedestrian".