space_dinos
Active Member
- Joined
- Dec 8, 2025
- Messages
- 417
- Reaction score
- 145
Andrea Scherpf, 22, and Bernd Göricke, 27,
of West Germany
Circumstances of the case:
The young couple from West Germany were in Western Canada on a hitchhiking adventure when they met with foul play after accepting a ride from an unknown individual driving a 1960s Chevrolet pick-up truck. The driver shot both Andrea and Bernd in the heads and dumped their bodies 32 kilometers west of Chetwynd. The killer stole almost all of the belongings the couple had in their possession, leaving only a bloody pair of jeans in a trashcan nearby. They then used Andrea's traveller's cheques to buy gasoline at several locations South of the crime scene.
Their bodies were found on October 6th, 1983, and with the help of forensic dentistry and Interpol, they were identified on October, 16th.
Two named suspects were eventually exonerated through DNA evidence, those being Andrew Rose, who was wrongfully convicted of the crime in 1991 and spent almost 10 years in prison, and Vance Hill, who supposedly confessed to the murders in 1984 before committing suicide in 1985. The case remains unsolved, but the RCMP continue to list it as an open cold case.
The crime scene at Chetwynd (marked in red)
1960's Chevrolet pick-up truck
"The suspect is Caucasian, approximately 40 years old, 5’9″ tall, 190 lbs, with straight collar-length brown hair and a medium to dark complexion. They said he walked with slumped shoulders and wore a long-sleeved green shirt, possibly the same color pants or blue jeans, a dark colored hunter-style cap with fold-up ear flaps and a vest."
...
"Police also provided detailed descriptions of all of the property that Andrea Scherpf and Bernd Göricke had with them when they set out on their trip.
Property belonging to Bernd Goericke:
· German passport No. D3900872.
· German drivers licence No. 146777.
· International drivers licence No. 2151383.
· “LOWE” back-pack, green in color with black bottom.
· (Has hole 10 cm from bottom with an “Eidelweiss” flower patch.)
· Blue nylon mummy type sleeping bag .
· Green Army type jacket with zipper.
· Pocket type German/English dictionary.
· Small circular propane type camping stove.
· Daily diary written in German.
· Orange cotton jacket with pile exterior.
· White T-shirt with printing “Snowden mouldings for better penetration, the current axe”.
· Brown guitar, make unknown, contained in a brown vinyl type bag.
· Pair of hiking boots, make unknown.
· Igloo type green coloured tent with exterior frame.
Property belonging to Andrea Scherps:
· German passport No. S4114020.
· I.D. card No. 04367598.
· German drivers licence No. 66177.
· International drivers licence No. 3783.
· Blue “LOWE” back-pack.
· Blue nylon mummy type sleeping bag.
· Canon AEl camera with lens ser. 1330139.
· Ladies brown leather purse.
· Sleeping bag liner made of old linen sheets sewn together, white with pale red, green and blue stripes.
· Ladies digital watch, make unknown.
· Blue cotton jacket with pile exterior.
· Pair of red canvas shoes.
· Pair of brown leather shoes.
· Pair of hiking boots.
· Pair of roman type sandals.
· Blue jeans.
· Red short sleeved dress with brass rivets.
· Necklace and Oval broach (1 cm) engraved with leaves.
· Black and purple cotton skirt with silver sparkles
· White and green Tank top
Anyone with information can contact the Chetwynd RCMP at (250) 788-9221 or Crime Stoppers at 1 (800) 222-8477." - CityNews: "Unsolved 1983 murders in Northern B.C. eerily similar to killings that sparked manhunt" - reneebernard - posted September 27, 2019
Other links of note:
CBC News: "Newfoundlander's ordeal with RCMP sting subject of CBC documentary" - published January 21, 2009
Vancouver Sun: "Police seek new leads in 1983 murder of two German tourists near Chetwynd | RCMP are seeking new information in hopes of solving the murder of two German tourists near Chetwynd 30 years ago. Police said Tuesday that in October 1983, the bodies of 27-year-old Bernd Goericke and his 22-year-old fiancé, Andrea Scherps, were found on an isolated road 32 kilometres south of Chetwynd. Both had been shot and their property taken." - By Brian Morton - published June 10, 2013
EnergeticCity: "30 year old murder near Chetwynd still unsolved" - Erica Fisher - published Jun 11, 2013
Someone Got Away With Murder (CBC): Timeline of Events
Someone Got Away With Murder (CBC) episode = published January 15, 2015 (I could not get the video to archive)
Canadian Registry of Wrongful Convictions: Andrew Rose - "Dr. Gudjonsson, an expert on false confessions who later reviewed the covert recordings, found that the RCMP utilized “relentless pressure, abusive language, threats, inducement … and psychological manipulation” in order to extract their desired confession.47 Rose was met with hostility as he repeatedly refused to confess to a crime that he had not committed. The officers aggressively insisted he was lying. They told him that if he did not confess, he would go back to prison.48 Eventually they took Rose, an alcoholic, to a bar where they finally obtained their confession.49 Through the course of the Mr. Big operation, the RCMP “played on [Rose’s] vulnerabilities and distress … to break down his persistent claims of innocence.”
