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

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Sillybilly

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Nothing that would be considered a forest. There may be a few trees/bushes near the Elbow River, though. But not enough to conceal a body or bodies.
The crime scene is pretty close to the downtown area.

Anyone who is more local can probably give better insight than me.
I don't live in Calgary, but I do have general knowledge about the city.

Google streetview shows this at the end of their street (about 4 houses down from the Liknes' home):



It's the Elbow River Pathway (iirc) that runs alongside the river.
 
AMBER Alert issued for missing five-year-old from Calgary

Calgary police are investigating the disappearance of a five-year-old child and his grandparents from a home in the southwest and issued an AMBER Alert on Monday afternoon.

Police were called to a home in the 100 block of 38A Avenue SW at about 10:00 a.m. Monday by a mother who went to the home to pick up her son who was staying with his grandparents.

The three were not at the residence and have not been located despite efforts by police.


Investigators say evidence at the scene suggests their disappearance may be suspicious.
full article:
http://calgary.ctvnews.ca/amber-alert-issued-for-missing-five-year-old-from-calgary-1.1893711

Thread#1

Thread #2

Thread #3

Thread #4

*Media, Maps & Timeline*

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...ia-Maps-amp-Timeline*&p=10713927#post10713927

Rules Etiquette & Information:

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...iquette-amp-Information&p=8364858#post8364858
 
Nathan O'Brien Amber Alert: 'Person of interest' has criminal past, new charge
Douglas Garland faces identity theft charge in decades-old case, has link to Liknes family


Police took Garland into custody for questioning related to the search for five-year-old Nathan O'Brien and his grandparents, Kathy and Alvin Liknes, and CBC News has learned police have charged him with stealing the identity of Matthew Kemper Hartley — a 14-year-old Alberta boy killed in a car crash in 1980.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/natha...terest-has-criminal-past-new-charge-1.2698107
 
Timeline of events
BY ERIKA STARK

June 29: It’s the third day of the estate sale at Alvin and Kathryn Liknes’ home in Parkhill. Jennifer O’Brien, Kathryn’s daughter, visits the home with two of her children. At around 10 p.m., she leaves with her youngest son. Five-year-old Nathan O’Brien stays at his grandparents’ house for a sleepover.

June 30: Jennifer O’Brien returns to the Liknes house around 10 a.m. to pick up Nathan. No once is there. In the afternoon, police announce that they’re investigating what they say is the suspicious disappearance of Nathan and his grandparents. Around suppertime, an Amber Alert is issued for the missing trio. The alert prompts numerous calls to police, but yields no significant leads.

July 1: Police say they have a “big mystery” on their hands, and evidence at the Liknes home suggest that the three family members left the residence against their will. Police ask anyone who attended the estate sale between June 27 and 29 to contact them.

July 2: The parents of Nathan O’Brien make an emotional public plea for the return of their son at a press conference with police. “I know Grandma’s holding you so tightly right now and taking care of you and they are doing everything in their power to keep you safe, so I need you to ... stay strong Nathan,” says Jennifer O’Brien, clutching a T-shirt belonging to her missing son.

July 3: About 75 people attend a community hall meeting in Parkhill to talk to police about the estate sale. That afternoon, police say they’ve advanced the case in the last 24 hours, but it’s not sure how much progress has been made.

July 4: In the most revealing update yet from police, Staff Sgt. Doug Andrus says a violent struggle occurred inside the Liknes’ home before the three went missing. Police are searching for a green Ford F150 made in the late 1980s or early 1990s that was seen driving around Parkhill several times during the night of the disappearance.

July 5: Dozens of police officers fan out in the area around the Liknes’ home. The search is complete a few hours later. Soon after, a large police presence is seen at an acreage in the rural northeast corner of Airdrie, and in the evening, police confirm that the massive search at the property is related to the investigation. Police find a green truck matching the description of the one seen near the Liknes’ home at the scene and take one person in for questioning.

July 6: Police and RCMP continue their grid search of the Airdrie property, but release the person they’d taken for questioning from custody. The man, Douglas Garland, remains a person of interest. About 40 officers stand shoulder-to-shoulder as they slowly comb the fields around the home. In the afternoon, they tape off the area around a nearby pond and a police boat is seen briefly at the scene. Police remain on scene.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/Amber+Alert+Timeline+events/10005882/story.html
 
Lots of good information in this video if it hasn't been posted yet.

-family was surprised to see what appears to be DG's pick up in the video
AL and DG hadn't spoke in about seven years
-DG worked for Alvin
-when business faltered, the working relationship ended, it didn't end on a bad note
-ALLEN last saw DG at his in-laws last Thanksgiving and noted he seemed a bit of a loner and didn't speak to him that much
-DG has bail hearing Wednesday

http://globalnews.ca/news/1438148/missing-family-search-of-rural-home-enters-fourth-day/
 
LE says that it was led to the farm by a tip (on the 5th) but the ID theft charge relates to some contact between DG and LE the day prior, on July 4. So maybe LE is not telling us everything.
Yes I am a bit confused about those timelines. If DG did commit the false ID with intent to use for criminal purpose on Jul 4, why the delay in charges? I guess it's possible he gave a fake name when first questioned and it took them a couple days to piece together his real identity. I would have thought the charge date would align with Sunday Jul 6 when he was released from questioning about the Amber Alert but then subsequently taken into custody for the fake ID charge.

Why should you be disappointed that LE is asking for as much information as possible (instead of as little as possible?)
That's not what I was disappointed about, it was about the fact that they should have been able to develop the truck link without going public. Perhaps as you say the family didn't assist them or even think about the possible connections. So my disappointment is not specifically in LE or the family or anyone in particular, just the length of time to make the connection and the need to go public when it may not have been necessary.

However you are assuming that they have video from only one video camera in the neighbourhood. If LE said the truck was circling the neighbourhood they likely have enough video evidence to corroborate that claim.
You make a good point.

In what circumstances would it make sense for DG to commit a crime, drive all the way back to Airdrie and return to Parkhill, to revisit the crime scene 1-1/2 hours later, drive away again and reappear in 1-1/2 hours, repeatedly? LE said DG was smart. That seems incredibly dumb.
"Multiple" could mean as few as 2. It could be as simple as trip 1: commit the crime, trip 2: to and from Airdrie to get cleanup supplies and remove victims.

Also, just because DG lives in Airdrie does not mean that it is logical for him to bring evidence or bodies all the way back home with him. I think that if there were bodies, a smart man would leave them far away from the place where he lived, in some part of rugged, unpopulated rural Alberta where no one is ever going to find them.
I quite agree. That's why I initially found it strange that LE was searching in a grid bordering the property, as if a criminal would respect an unmarked property line for disposing weapon or other materials.

DG is not the property owner in Airdrie. And we can’t say for certain that LE didn’t already know who the truck owner was before Friday.
I agree, the truck ownership hasn't been established. But there was a report here that DG was the property owner in 2000.

When LE asked for information on the truck they would have gotten a response from everyone that knew DG had a truck and thought DG might be involved in something like this. That is much more valuable than finding out only who owns the truck from a database. They might have gotten additional info on the path the truck took, or a general idea of how many old green Ford trucks in the LE database are actually road worthy/on the road. In other words, LE released the truck photo in order to get more information.

I agree with a lot of what you say. But if that were true, LE would just make their whole case file open source, and we know that doesn't happen. They don't publish victim clothes and say "Anywhere know what store this is from?" or a wound photo and say "Can anyone help us find a weapon that matches this shape?" Crowdsourcing of crime solving may be in the future, but it's not the current practice.

They were fairly specific and I believe credible when they published the truck photo and said they were seeking the truck.

LE might have started out this investigation by asking if KL and AL had any enemies or had been in any disputes with anyone, and LE could have IDed DG as a POI and known about his record (points 6, 4) on the very first day. Then they could have become aware of the truck on surveillance video (1) and linked it to DG (5). They then spent some time developing their case. Only at this time, when they had some info on DG, and perhaps even gone to see him (the ID related charge suggest contact on the 4th), were they ready to tip their hand and show the photos of the truck. Perhaps they hoped DG would be triggered to take some desperate action to make sure his trail was clean. At any rate, they already had enough info on DG to justify a very wide ranging search warrant by the next day.
I considered this theory before I published. It doesn't fit, at least not properly. If they did already know the truck and its whereabouts and they suspected DG might have hostages or victims and wanted to use the truck fact to provoke him to act, they would have merely leaked general info. "We are seeking a green 1990's pickup truck." That would have been ample, there would be no need for highly specific data including photo to be released, in fact doing so becomes a liability if you already have the truck identified, located, and tied to your suspect.

The fact that they are searching in Airdrie does not mean that they expect to find things out there, just that LE has to do its due diligence.
I agree, they need to scour it if for no other reason than they will in the future have to say they were thorough.
 
One of the things that Ive wondered about from the beginning in this case, is why would the bodies need to be removed from the house, would'nt it be easier to make it look like a burglary gone bad, it would be hard work and very risky to drag bodies around and transport them in your own vehicle. I think maybe the reason the bodies couldn't be left in the house is that there were not three bodies. Three people going missing is a whole different scenario than if, say, two bodies were found and one person missing. DG has no history of violent crime, but has knowledge of identity theft . He might be a good person to know if you wanted to make yourself disappear.
Agree, this is a big mystery. What can be gained by moving 3 bodies? It would seem risky with no benefit.
 
Agree, this is a big mystery. What can be gained by moving 3 bodies? It would seem risky with no benefit.

Maybe they thought they could destroy all evidence? No evidence no crime.
 
It is possible AL and DG were in contact without anyone knowing. When my sister was using drugs really heavily she would contact distant family for money and other things, especially when on the outs with closer family. I eventually had to send everyone a warning about her lifestyle and to be careful what they do with her, and if they would contact me if she contacted them. DG may have reached out to AL for some help of some kind and then that went south.
 
Brooks is approximately 190 km from Calgary. The highway is mostly 110 km/hr .. I'm not terrific at math but about 1 1/2 hours from Calgary proper .... so you could add about 30 or so minutes from Airdrie.
 
Part of me thinks that they have nothing on DG. I was so hopeful with the searches in Airdrie but it sure doesn't sound like much now.
 
Brooks is approximately 190 km from Calgary. The highway is mostly 110 km/hr .. I'm not terrific at math but about 1 1/2 hours from Calgary proper .... so you could add about 30 or so minutes from Airdrie.

google maps is a beautiful thing :p

It's about a 2 hour drive between Airdrie and Brooks.

RCMP and MSM confirmed the Brooks sightings were unfounded so I really wouldn't look much into it.
 
I really can't see the police putting this much effort into a lead if they don't have -something-. We know they have the truck but I am thinking they may have found ties, rope, tape, or something in that manner further suggesting an abduction of live persons. I keep hoping the kid was dropped off someplace and he pops up. However if they found blood inside the home and someone was injured it would probably show up in the truck rather quickly. If they didn't find anything in the truck I don't think they would be putting this much effort into this lead. It would just not make sense to me.
 
http://globalnews.ca/news/1438148/missing-family-search-of-rural-home-enters-fourth-day/

This is video of a reporter telling that he spoke with AL (AL's son) and he shares what AL told him.

I transcribed part of it:
We spoke to Allen Liknes who is the son of the missing Alvin Liknes. He is married to Garland's sister, and so he told us today on the phone that he was surprised the family was to see Garland's ... green pickup or what appeared to be his pickup in the pictures last Friday. He doesn't believe Doulgas Garland and his father, Alvin, have spoken in about seven years. ...

Douglas worked for Alvin but apparently when that business faltered the working relationship ended. It didn't* end on a bad note though apparently. Allen last saw Douglas Garland at Thanksgiving at his in-law's last fall, but he noted, he said Douglas wsas a bit of a loner and he didn't speak to him that much.

*I heard the word "didn't." Please correct me if you guys heard it differently.

I wonder when Allen and PG got together. Allen and FL owned and operated a modular home business in Evansburg since 1996 and their son LL joined 2012 (but the article doesn't say if Allen and FL were still together in 2012 though).

According to this article, Allen and FL still owned the business in 2014:

http://www.castle.ca/downloads/PR_Jan14_2014-New_Member_Announcement.pdf

So, when did PG come into Allen's life, or is FL another sister of DG's?
 
Today, 03:36 PM #926
supernovaNic


http://globalnews.ca/news/1438148/mi...rs-fourth-day/

This is video of a reporter telling that he spoke with AL (AL's son) and he shares what AL told him.

I transcribed part of it:
We spoke to Allen Liknes who is the son of the missing Alvin Liknes. He is married to Garland's sister, and so he told us today on the phone that he was surprised the family was to see Garland's ... green pickup or what appeared to be his pickup in the pictures last Friday. He doesn't believe Doulgas Garland and his father, Alvin, have spoken in about seven years. ...

Douglas worked for Alvin but apparently when that business faltered the working relationship ended. It didn't* end on a bad note though apparently. Allen last saw Douglas Garland at Thanksgiving at his in-law's last fall, but he noted, he said Douglas wsas a bit of a loner and he didn't speak to him that much.

*I heard the word "didn't." Please correct me if you guys heard it differently.
 
Thank you for all of the hugs :) I hope I didn't give the impression I was trying to put focus on myself. As I've waded through the posts and reports I'm always struck by how easy it is to attempt to understand the behaviour of people in grief situations. The first word that came to mind for me when I saw JO was numb ... not cold. I know that feeling of trying to hold it together for your kids, taking meds possibly to get through it. This is heartbreaking no matter what.

ETA .. when I first saw JO
 
Hi all ... I've been following this bizarre case since the beginning & knew the amazing people on Websleuths would be on top of the intricacies of the case!

Just watched the presser and I thought I heard one of the spokespeople refer to 'the missing' as 'victims' ... that didn't sound right somehow. I'm gonna go & see if I can find it somehow.
 
I really can't see the police putting this much effort into a lead if they don't have -something-. We know they have the truck but I am thinking they may have found ties, rope, tape, or something in that manner further suggesting an abduction of live persons. I keep hoping the kid was dropped off someplace and he pops up. However if they found blood inside the home and someone was injured it would probably show up in the truck rather quickly. If they didn't find anything in the truck I don't think they would be putting this much effort into this lead. It would just not make sense to me.


I get the massive search. There are three missing persons, one being a child. It's the way police roll in these types of situations. What I don't get is what appears to be the lack of evidence and three people that are still missing.
 
Hi all ... I've been following this bizarre case since the beginning & knew the amazing people on Websleuths would be on top of the intricacies of the case!

Just watched the presser and I thought I heard one of the spokespeople refer to 'the missing' as 'victims' ... that didn't sound right somehow. I'm gonna go & see if I can find it somehow.

there were lots of strange word slips and contradictions.
 
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