Lyle and Marie McCann were last seen on July 3, 2010, while on a road trip from their hometown of St. Albert,

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, to

Chilliwack Chilliwack ( )( hur, Ts'elxwéyeqw) is a city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Chilliwack is surrounded by mountains and home to recreational areas such as Cultus Lake and Chilliwack Lake Provincial Parks. There are numerous outdoor ...

, in the Canadian province of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

. A few days later, their charred motorhome was discovered, resulting in a search that led to the arrest of Travis Vader. Vader was eventually charged with second-degree murder in the deaths of the McCanns, though their bodies have yet to be discovered. Vader was found guilty on September 15, 2016. On October 31, 2016, the second-degree murder conviction was reversed and Vader was convicted of

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ...

Lyle and Marie McCann

Lyle Thomas McCann was born August 24, 1931, near

Red Deer, Alberta Red Deer is a city in Alberta, Canada, located midway on the Calgary–Edmonton Corridor. Red Deer serves central Alberta, and key industries include health care, retail trade, construction, oil and gas, hospitality, manufacturing and education. ...

, one of six children. He was a long-haul

truck driver A truck driver (commonly referred to as a trucker, teamster, or driver in the United States and Canada; a truckie in Australia and New Zealand; a HGV driver in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the European Union, a lorry driver, or driver in ...

for many years, traveling throughout North America. Marie McCann (née Waltz) was born October 15, 1932, in

Torrington, Alberta Torrington is a hamlet in central Alberta, Canada within Kneehill County. It is located approximately northeast of Calgary at the junction of Highway 27 and Highway 805. The hamlet is located in Census Division No. 5 and in the federal ridi ...

, one of seven children. The two were married July 30, 1952, in Torrington, and have resided in St. Albert, Alberta, since 1964. They had three children. Lyle and Marie were 78 and 77 years old, respectively, at the time of their disappearance.

Disappearance

On July 3, 2010, the McCanns left St. Albert for Chilliwack, BC, for a

vacation A vacation (American English) or holiday (British English) is either a leave of absence from a regular job or an instance of leisure travel away from home. People often take a vacation during specific holiday observances or for specific festi ...

and were to pick up their daughter on July 10 at the

Abbotsford International Airport Abbotsford International Airport is located in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, southwest of the city centre. It is the second largest airport in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, after Vancouver International Airport (YVR ...

. That same day they were seen at a Superstore

gas station A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Gasol ...

fuelling their 1999 Gulfstream Coach

motorhome A motorhome (or motor coach) is a type of self-propelled recreational vehicle (RV) which offers mobile living accommodation. Features Motorhomes usually have sleeping spaces for two to eight people. Each sleeping space is either fixed or conv ...

in St. Albert, with their green

Hyundai Tucson The Hyundai Tucson ( ko, 현대 투싼) (pronounced Tu-són) is a compact crossover SUV ( C-segment) produced by the South Korean manufacturer Hyundai since 2004. In the brand's lineup, the Tucson is positioned below the Santa Fe, and above the ...

in tow. They are then believed to have traveled to the

Yellowhead Highway The Yellowhead Highway (french: Route Yellowhead) is a major interprovincial highway in Western Canada that runs from Winnipeg to Graham Island off the coast of British Columbia via Saskatoon and Edmonton. It stretches across the four western ...

. In the evening of July 5, firefighters responded to a motorhome on fire at the Minnow Lake campground near

Edson, Alberta Edson is a town in Central Alberta, west-central Alberta, Canada. It is located in Yellowhead County, west of Edmonton along the Yellowhead Highway and east of the intersection with Alberta Highway 47, Highway 47. History The town was foun ...

. No bodies were found, but police discovered the motorhome belonged to the McCanns, though the Hyundai Tucson was missing. The

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

(RCMP) visited the McCanns' home, but received no answer. When the McCanns did not arrive in at Abbotsford Airport on July 10, their daughter, Trudy Holder, notified the RCMP, who released a

missing person A missing person is a person who has disappeared and whose status as alive or dead cannot be confirmed as their location and condition are unknown. A person may go missing through a voluntary disappearance, or else due to an accident, crime, ...

s notification. The RCMP realized the connection between the burned-out motorhome and the McCanns' disappearance and launched aerial and ground searches. On July 16, the RCMP found the McCanns' SUV near

Highway 16 Route 16, or Highway 16, can refer to: International * Asian Highway 16 * European route E16 * European route E016 Australia - Thompsons Road (Victoria) - South Australia Canada ;Parts of the Trans-Canada Highway: * Yellowhead ...

and Range Road 144, about 30 kilometres east of Edson. They soon announced that the disappearance of the McCanns appeared to be foul play. At the same time, the RCMP revealed a

person of interest "Person of interest" is a term used by law enforcement in the United States, Canada, and other countries when identifying someone possibly involved in a criminal investigation who has not been arrested or formally accused of a crime. It has no le ...

, 38-year-old Travis Edward Vader of

no fixed address In law, no fixed abode or without fixed abode is not having a fixed geographical location as a residence, commonly referred to as no fixed address. This is applicable to several groups: * People who have a home, but which is not always in the ...

. Vader had multiple outstanding warrants at the time and a criminal history, including vehicular theft in 1995; possession of break-in tools, driving a motor vehicle while unauthorized, operating an irregular motor vehicle and trailer, and weapons charges in August 2009; stealing and burning a truck in December 2009; and careless use of a firearm and unauthorized possession of a firearm in June 2010.

Arrest of Travis Vader and continued searches

On July 19, 2010, Vader was arrested near Niton Junction, Alberta, on outstanding warrants unrelated to the disappearance of the McCanns. On July 27, Vader's sister, Bobbi-Jo, revealed to the media that her brother stayed with her family in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anc ...

on July 4, a day after the McCanns were last seen, and that he appeared "tired... sick and

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mech ...

he needed to rest." Vader, while still being held in custody, was officially announced a suspect in the disappearance of the McCanns on August 31, 2010. On September 10, the RCMP announced they were searching a property south of

Nojack, Alberta Nojack is an unincorporated community in central Alberta within Yellowhead County, located on Highway 16, west of Edmonton, at an elevation of . It was possibly named because of the lack of oil jacks in the area at the time, however Place Names o ...

, as part of the investigation. On September 14, the RCMP revealed they had ended their search of the property, where they searched a pond, septic tank, and combed through piles of debris. The property belonged to an acquaintance of Vader, and a dive team was used to search the pond and septic tank. Vader, still in custody, was denied

bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required. In some countrie ...

on March 18, 2011; the RCMP believed he still had information about the McCanns or had some involvement with them, though he did not face any charges related to the investigation. A few months later, on June 27, 2011, the RCMP searched a property near Lodgepole, Alberta, southwest of Edmonton, in relation to the investigation.

Declaration of the couple's death and Vader's release

On July 27, 2011, a court issued an order declaring the McCanns to be deceased; the RCMP now believed the McCanns to have been killed the day they disappeared. Vader was denied bail yet again on February 15, 2012. On April 23, 2012, Vader was officially charged with two counts of

first-degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the ...

in the deaths of Lyle and Marie McCann, though the whereabouts of their bodies is still unknown. These charges were stayed by the Crown on 13 March 2014. On October 12, 2012, Vader was convicted of offences that included drug trafficking, theft, and weapons charges, though a new trial was ordered due to previously undisclosed evidence. On February 13, 2014, Vader launched a lawsuit against the RCMP, accusing them of keeping him in custody until he could be charged with the deaths of the McCanns. On October 8, 2014, Vader was found not guilty of nine charges unrelated to the disappearance of the McCanns, and released from custody shortly afterwards. Upon his release, Vader told the media that the RCMP had "probably destroyed my life...

hey Hey or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...

put me in jail for four years to investigate me when there was nothing there to begin with" and that he knew nothing about the McCanns and that his "heart goes out to them."

Vader re-arrested and convicted of second-degree murder

On December 19, 2014, Vader was arrested in St. Albert yet again in relation to the deaths of the McCanns. The whereabouts of the McCanns' bodies still remained unknown. On September 15, 2016, Vader was found not guilty of

. He was, however, found guilty of second-degree murder with an eligibility of

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

within 10–25 years. The verdict attracted immediate criticism from legal experts, who claimed that it relied on a law that had been previously ruled unconstitutional. On October 31, 2016, Justice Denny Thomas reversed the original conviction and Vader was convicted of

. On January 25, 2017, Vader was sentenced to a single term of life in prison, with the eligibility of parole in 7 years.

References