CANADA Canada - Ben Tyner, 32, cowboy, horse returned w/o him, Merritt, British Columbia, 26 Jan 2019 - #2

[enelram]

Sorry that Sweet Anna deleted her account here on WS. She was
a good source of info on local happenings in Merritt. Wish she would come back but I guess she was worried when this turned
into a 'criminal' investigation.

 

[Trudie]

See comment after this article.
So the ranch was looking for a lessee, someone to take over the ranch. The owners did make a complete sweep to start over
on running the ranch.
Jobs in this area are taken seriously as locals probably don't
have much chance at steady income. And when they lose this job
and any unemployment benefits run out, families could get
desperate for income. As this commenter posted, The ranch
didn't give two sh1ts about their employees.
Another vote for a revenge killing.

Bradner R Farms assumes haying operation at Nicola Ranch - Merritt Herald

Yes, I read the comments!
I’ve found a lot of info but I think it violates TOS.

 

[enelram]

Wonder if Ben had recently let go or given warnings to any of the
remaining employees? This article gives descriptions of those
ex-employees who have poor social skills but may have been
skilled at their jobs, but when terminated they act out and go on
a rampage to kill those they feel are responsible for their firing.

Workplace Violence: 12 Signs Of A Dangerous Person | HuffPost

 

[MistyWaters]

Jan 18th
Merritt RCMP make arrest in connection to church fires
“....MERRITT, B.C. — Police have arrested a 37-year-old man in connection to a number of church fires in the Merritt area.

Last week, the Murray United Church on the Nicola Ranch near Merritt was completely destroyed by fire. It was the oldest building in the Nicola Valley....
.....The man is set to appear in Kamloops Provincial Court this afternoon on four counts of arson.”

I still wonder about this church fire because I don’t really believe in coincidences. What are the odds of the burning of this old church located on NR private property, Ben speaking to the media about it and then only about 2 weeks later he mysteriously disappears under possible criminal circumstances?

I’d be curious, was the person who was arrested let out on bail? I’d guess he was. What was his connection to NR, previous employee, related to one, lived in one of the NR residences at one time? Reports also say some sort of tip led to a search of the home of the accused. Was Ben involved somehow in providing police with information? We don’t know of course but I do wonder.

 

[Trudie]

Wonder if Ben had recently let go or given warnings to any of the
remaining employees? This article gives descriptions of those
ex-employees who have poor social skills but may have been
skilled at their jobs, but when terminated they act out and go on
a rampage to kill those they feel are responsible for their firing.

Workplace Violence: 12 Signs Of A Dangerous Person | HuffPost

I’ve wondered ndered too, had he terminated someone? If so, surely he told his superior, or documented his actions.

Jan 18th
Merritt RCMP make arrest in connection to church fires
“....MERRITT, B.C. — Police have arrested a 37-year-old man in connection to a number of church fires in the Merritt area.

Last week, the Murray United Church on the Nicola Ranch near Merritt was completely destroyed by fire. It was the oldest building in the Nicola Valley....
.....The man is set to appear in Kamloops Provincial Court this afternoon on four counts of arson.”

I still wonder about this church fire because I don’t really believe in coincidences. What are the odds of the burning of this old church located on NR private property, Ben speaking to the media about it and then only about 2 weeks later he mysteriously disappears under possible criminal circumstances?

I’d be curious, was the person who was arrested let out on bail? I’d guess he was. What was his connection to NR, previous employee, related to one, lived in one of the NR residences at one time? Reports also say some sort of tip led to a search of the home of the accused. Was Ben involved somehow in providing police with information? We don’t know of course but I do wonder.

Iirc, the arsonist was behind bars @time Ben went missing.
Odds? Same as Ben going on a ride apps two hours before dusk, w/o his phone & violating ranch rules by not informing anyone. Moo

 

[enelram]

Here's a great article about the Gang Ranch, one of the largest
cow ranches in North America. It describes the way a well run
cattle operation is run. quite differently than the way the rag tag
NR is operated.
Also note that their cowboys earn enough to have great custom
saddles made since they spend so much time in them and also
each cowboy is given 8-10 horses for only their use while
working on the ranch.
In an msm article on NR a photo showed a NR cowboy with his
worn out, scrawny horse and a beat up saddle that wouldn't sell
for $25. My point is NR was poorly managed for many years.
Absentee owners- who more than likely weren't ranchers but
businessmen who only understood the bottom line, not the
cattle-ranching business.
An older, more experienced manager would likely not accept
this working arrangement- owners who knew little of the
ranching business, didn't empathize with the cowboy life,
and who were primarily interested in their bottom line.
Notice also the hard life these cowboys live. Then to not be appreciated for their hard work, then to be let go without
warning- does not create a great working atmosphere.
Worth reading.

Gang Ranch of British Columbia

 

[Trudie]

I firmly believe RCMP would have remained silent if they were not close to making an arrest. Of course moo, which means nothing, lol.
But, I also believe there’s another person involved at some level & RCMP commented to get the two suspects talking to each other, hoping the lesser involved comes forth.
I think the person will, before all is said & done. I’m guessing the pressure on said person is intense, from LE, NR owner, the main perp’ & player #2 (in moo) is on the verge of breaking.
Again, speculation & MOO

 

[Trudie]

Here's a great article about the Gang Ranch, one of the largest
cow ranches in North America. It describes the way a well run
cattle operation is run. quite differently than the way the rag tag
NR is operated.
Also note that their cowboys earn enough to have great custom
saddles made since they spend so much time in them and also
each cowboy is given 8-10 horses for only their use while
working on the ranch.
In an msm article on NR a photo showed a NR cowboy with his
worn out, scrawny horse and a beat up saddle that wouldn't sell
for $25. My point is NR was poorly managed for many years.
Absentee owners- who more than likely weren't ranchers but
businessmen who only understood the bottom line, not the
cattle-ranching business.
An older, more experienced manager would likely not accept
this working arrangement- owners who knew little of the
ranching business, didn't empathize with the cowboy life,
and who were primarily interested in their bottom line.
Notice also the hard life these cowboys live. Then to not be appreciated for their hard work, then to be let go without
warning- does not create a great working atmosphere.
Worth reading.

Gang Ranch of British Columbia

I’ve read this! I’ve also had the pleasure of visiting some huge working ranches. Very hard to leave them!
The Organization that purchased NR did not do so to become cattlemen, imo. They are interested in development.
Until infrastructure is needed in Merritt area, there’s nothing to do with the land. IMO, the ranch is a thorn for the owner. Especially silly now!

 

[Trudie]

Wonder if Ben had recently let go or given warnings to any of the
remaining employees? This article gives descriptions of those
ex-employees who have poor social skills but may have been
skilled at their jobs, but when terminated they act out and go on
a rampage to kill those they feel are responsible for their firing.

Workplace Violence: 12 Signs Of A Dangerous Person | HuffPost

NR was very fair when they let employees go, they allowed them to remain on the ranch for 6 months, if they needed to stay. With the amount of large cattle ranches in the area, I think most found new jobs & moved on.
I maintain Ben was hired to specifically get the ranch revenue producing & was well informed as to issues the owner was experiencing & needed to eliminate.
Jmo
I hope I’m right, because LE would know of problems from day one.

 

[Satchie]

It seems to me there was very slow response by RMCP initially.
IMO locals did believe it was an accident , thus all the organized searches.
If we can believe, despite a news ban by LE and RCMP, there
was little suspicion about foul play. Until the searches were
done and over, it seems RCMP was not involved.
I'd like to know WHO suggested Ben may have gone out looking
for stray cows. WHO thought he would be 'working' on his day
off. Maybe the person "targeting" Ben sent him on a wild goose
chase by telling him about a good size mini herd of stray cows,
and told him right where they'd be and this "targeter" knew
Ben would be out there and alone on his horse and an easy
target for a sniper.
Based on pics on local sm pages, sniper rifles with powerful
scopes are quite popular in that area for 'hunting'. These rifles
have tremendous range and are pretty accurate long distances.

There was definitely lots going on at NR. Manager let go,
haying operation leased out, 9 employees let go. And only 4 employees kept. NR , essentially cleaned house. 10 out of 14
employees swept out. Obviously the owners of NR were very
dissatisfied with the way the ranch had been run, for years.

Disgruntled ex- employee? A resentment killing? Was Ben
simply a victim of his position and not necessarily killed
for personal reasons against him?
Was this a vendetta against the corporate ranch itself?
Here in US disgruntled ex- employees come back and retaliate
killing innocent employees when the killers were really
"targeting" the employer company. And because the small
band of original NR employees were like a long term 'family'.
Perp didn't want to harm them but the new 'outsider' was
different. The new outsider represented the bad stuff happening
at NR. The new outsider represented the corporate owners
who made the decision to clean house and oust all the long
term employees.
Maybe Ben was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe
this was just a swipe back at NR for taking away the livelihood
of all those let go long term employees.

I think police have to go slowly, they can't jump to conclusions on the basis of something seeming a bit off. I think they have to keep an open mind to all possibilities while they assemble the evidence, in order to do a proper investigation. It's well known that if you form an opinion, that will introduce a bias into the kinds of evidence you collect, and the kinds of evidence you ignore because it doesn't fit your theory.

 

[Trudie]

I think police have to go slowly, they can't jump to conclusions on the basis of something seeming a bit off. I think they have to keep an open mind to all possibilities while they assemble the evidence, in order to do a proper investigation. It's well known that if you form an opinion, that will introduce a bias into the kinds of evidence you collect, and the kinds of evidence you ignore because it doesn't fit your theory.

And I don’t t believe LE jumps to conclusions, most times. They work off facts & evidence, so it takes time.
The big thing here, imo, is Ben deviating from his normal protocol & the first time doing so, he goes missing. Nope. Not imo.
By using the term “targeted”, the suspect now knows LE knows him, knows that Ben knew things that might possibly impact someone’s life, livelihood, etc. no-brainer, in my book.
ETA: fix atrocious typing

 

[enelram]

I’ve read this! I’ve also had the pleasure of visiting some huge working ranches. Very hard to leave them!
The Organization that purchased NR did not do so to become cattlemen, imo. They are interested in development.
Until infrastructure is needed in Merritt area, there’s nothing to do with the land. IMO, the ranch is a thorn for the owner. Especially silly now!

I'm not so sure about the reasons for purchasing NR. Many foreign investors are buying up huge ranches simply because
raising food animals are a good investment. everyone needs to eat.
The land itself is a solid investment, it generally rises in price
at a rate better than most other investments.
Did you notice Gang Ranch is now owned by a Saudi Shiek?
I would like to know the long term strategy on why the Taiwanese
family bought NR. And who was advising them to clean house
and change their operational strategy?
By leasing out the hay operation, the ranch gave away the profits
on hay not needed by NR. I've never seen a large farm w/ animals lease their hay operation. They usually work the hay
fields themselves and sell off excess. Lots of hay gets exported
at great prices. It's why we little horse owners have to pay exorbitant prices for top quality hay- because so much is
sold to foreign countries.

 

[Trudie]

I'm not so sure about the reasons for purchasing NR. Many foreign investors are buying up huge ranches simply because
raising food animals are a good investment. everyone needs to eat.
The land itself is a solid investment, it generally rises in price
at a rate better than most other investments.
Did you notice Gang Ranch is now owned by a Saudi Shiek?
I would like to know the long term strategy on why the Taiwanese
family bought NR. And who was advising them to clean house
and change their operational strategy?
By leasing out the hay operation, the ranch gave away the profits
on hay not needed by NR. I've never seen a large farm w/ animals lease their hay operation. They usually work the hay
fields themselves and sell off excess. Lots of hay gets exported
at great prices. It's why we little horse owners have to pay exorbitant prices for top quality hay- because so much is
sold to foreign countries.

The Saudi Sheiks purchase every thoroughbred farm offered, in my area.
IMO, after the patriarch died, heirs took a new approach to ranching.

Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?

Very interesting article @ link

 

[missy187]

Hello all; longtime lurker here. This case really gets to me. I’m about 4 hrs east of Merritt. Family friends live up in the area. Not sure if this is against the rules as is pure speculation and involves a name, but has anyone considered it odd that KR found the horse? ***Please delete if not allowed.

Why is this odd? According to family friends who live up there, KR is a well known bear poacher (MSM reports list him as a “hunter”/ “trapper”) who sells bear parts to China for Chinese medicine. According to these locals, BT had unpleasant dealings with KR and this was well known amongst many locals.

Again, please delete if not allowed. Could be coincidence that he found the horse. He does hunt up there after all.

 

[enelram]

Most of the Saudi's buying the Ky. TB farms also had TB race horses as their hobby, so the purchase of TB farms was a natural
transition as investments.
I sort of doubt the Taiwanese had any interest in cattle ranching except as land investments and selling cattle for profit.
I wonder if the ranch was making money back in '93 when this
corp. bought the ranch? I also wonder what their reputation is
in the cattle world.

 

[enelram]

Hello all; longtime lurker here. This case really gets to me. I’m about 4 hrs east of Merritt. Family friends live up in the area. Not sure if this is against the rules as is pure speculation and involves a name, but has anyone considered it odd that KR found the horse? ***Please delete if not allowed.
Who is BT
Why is this odd? According to family friends who live up there, KR is a well known bear poacher (MSM reports list him as a “hunter”/ “trapper”) who sells bear parts to China for Chinese medicine. According to these locals, BT had unpleasant dealings with KR and this was well known amongst many locals.

Again, please delete if not allowed. Could be coincidence that he found the horse. He does hunt up there after all.

Who is BT?

 

[enelram]

It was interesting that KR tried to dissuade LE and searchers from looking on the side of mountain that they searched.
It was also interesting that LE did NOT want his help.

 

[zecats]

Hello all; longtime lurker here. This case really gets to me. I’m about 4 hrs east of Merritt. Family friends live up in the area. Not sure if this is against the rules as is pure speculation and involves a name, but has anyone considered it odd that KR found the horse? ***Please delete if not allowed.

Why is this odd? According to family friends who live up there, KR is a well known bear poacher (MSM reports list him as a “hunter”/ “trapper”) who sells bear parts to China for Chinese medicine. According to these locals, BT had unpleasant dealings with KR and this was well known amongst many locals.

Again, please delete if not allowed. Could be coincidence that he found the horse. He does hunt up there after all.

Hi @missy187 Welcome to Websleuths!

Interesting info. First I've heard of any connection between Ben and KR, let alone a negative one. IM honest O, it was coincidence that he found Gunny. It was stated also that loggers first saw the horse, not sure about the timing on that and if actually accurate.

KR stated he was up there every morning for a month. He also didn't know who the horse belonged to when he found Gunny at 5:30am on Monday morning, tied her up and made some phone calls. It took, according to KR, 7 hours before he heard back that the horse belonged to a missing ranch manager from NR.

I could see Ben having an issue with a bear poacher, though. Again, JMO.

Family of missing cowboy coming from Wyoming to aid in search


Local hunter Kim Robinson, the man who tracked down child killer Allan Schoenborn when he was at large for nine days in 2008, said he found Tyner’s horse early Monday morning, around 5:30 a.m.


“It took me about 20 minutes to get him because he was pretty jumpy — something happened to him. He only had one rein,” Robinson said. “But I caught him and tied him up to a tree.”

Robinson called a few local cowboys at that time to notify them.

 

[Trudie]

Who is BT?

Ben Tyner

 

[Trudie]

Most of the Saudi's buying the Ky. TB farms also had TB race horses as their hobby, so the purchase of TB farms was a natural
transition as investments.
I sort of doubt the Taiwanese had any interest in cattle ranching except as land investments and selling cattle for profit.
I wonder if the ranch was making money back in '93 when this
corp. bought the ranch? I also wonder what their reputation is
in the cattle world.

Lol, don’t know how to elaborate within TOS.