Canada - Liana White, 29, Edmonton AB, 12 July 2005 - #1

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fourboys

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ID, shoes found near missing woman's vehicle

Last updated Jul 13 2005
CBC News

Police are investigating the mysterious disappearance of a 29-year-old pregnant woman whose SUV was found abandoned early Tuesday morning a short distance from her home.

Liana White's brown Ford Explorer was found in the parking lot of a playing field behind the Castledowns YMCA – about two kilometres from her home – with the keys and her purse inside and the door wide open.

Police say her wallet, some identification and a pair of shoes were found near the SUV. More identification and her cell phone were found in an area northwest of the parking lot.

"Whether or not somebody helped themselves to her purse, we're not sure," acting Insp. Jamie Ewatski said. "If it was a robbery or part of an abduction, we're not too sure yet.

"So we've located those [items] and we are going to be checking them for evidence."

The YMCA is along White's regular route to work.

White, who is four months pregnant, was last seen by her husband at 6:15 a.m., when she left for work as a clerk in the neo-natal unit of the Royal Alexandra Hospital. She was likely wearing surgical scrubs.

Colleagues have told police it isn't like White, who has a young daughter, to not show up for work.

"It's very uncharacteristic of this lady to not show up at work," Ewatski said. "She hasn't called anybody, so that's why we're treating this as very suspicious."

Police say they first received a call about the abandoned SUV at 7:27 a.m.

But Marie Olah says she first called police after seeing the vehicle in the parking lot on her way to the gym, before 6 a.m. – before White is said to have left for work.

Other media reports quote a second person who says he also saw the Explorer in the parking lot around 5:55 a.m.

Olah says police didn't take her first call seriously and didn't ask for the licence plate number. She made her second call after passing by the vehicle again and noticing the keys and purse were still inside.

The 7:27 a.m. call that brought officers to the scene was made by someone else.

Police officers have been searching the area and canvassing neighbours. Posters were also handed out to drivers heading home from work along the route White took, in case they saw something Tuesday morning.

"Human beings are very different people and we have no idea what's behind all this, so we're hoping for the best," Ewatski said. "And we're hoping someone will see her or she'll contact us."

Photo:
http://edmonton.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=ed-missing-white20050713
 
'This is scary'
Woman's vehicle found abandoned, personal items strewn on ground

By AJAY BHARDWAJ AND MAX MAUDIE,
EDMONTON SUN
Wed, July 13, 2005

Police, family and neighbours fear the worst after a 29-year-old pregnant woman vanished on her way to work yesterday morning.

"This is scary," said acting Insp. Jamie Ewatski, referring to the disappearance of Liana White. "We all think about Punky Gustavson. These things are out of the ordinary.

Cops received a call about 7:30 a.m. yesterday after someone reported seeing a suspicious vehicle parked in a parking lot next to a soccer field at 157 Avenue and 116 Street.

Police found White's brown Ford Explorer with a door wide open and keys inside, but not in the ignition.

White was wearing green medical scrubs when she left for work at her downtown job in the health field. Police were told she was scheduled to start work at 7 a.m.

Cops said White's home is a five-minute drive northwest of where her truck was found.

"(Her husband) and her family are very distraught," said Ewatski. "They are beside themselves and we are trying to comfort them and glean some more information from them as well."

Last night police said they were dealing with scores of tips after the media blitz that followed White's disappearance.

White's purse was outside the truck and her wallet was missing. Her credit cards, health-care card and other ID were strewn on the ground west of the Explorer. A pair of her shoes were found next to the vehicle.

"We've done all the required checks we've had to do in regards to ambulance, hospital, we've checked our cellblock," Ewatski said. "Nobody has seen this lady."

"She has not shown up at work. It's very uncharacteristic of her to do this."

A dog unit and Air 1, the police helicopter, were called to the scene. Later in the day volunteers with the community police radio network handed out posters with pictures of White and her truck.

Police also called out members of the homicide unit, robbery section and northside criminal investigation section. Cops said their expertise is crucial in this situation.

Another witness, city worker Darryl MacMillan, told police he saw the Explorer parked in the lot at 5:50 a.m.

White is five-foot-four, 190 pounds and is four months pregnant.

Police were keeping people away from the family's house yesterday until investigators had finished inside. A forensics unit was outside the house yesterday evening.

It's standard practice to search a missing person's house, police said, as well as interview family and friends.

The case is eerily similar to one that occurred in Edmonton a decade ago.

Det. Wil Tonowski of the EPS high-risk offender unit was last night accessing the national sex-offender registry. It's the first time police in Alberta have accessed the seven-month-old database for an active investigation, Tonowski said.

Tonowski said he couldn't get into the specifics of the investigation, but said there were grounds to access the database. He stressed "there's nothing specific that points to any sex assault at this point."

Sheila Salter, 42, was abducted in her own truck from an Edmonton parkade near her business on Dec. 7, 1995. Her body was found 10 days later in an abandoned farmhouse.

http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Edmonton/2005/07/13/1129134-sun.html
 
Search on for missing pregnant Edmonton mom

CTV.ca News Staff
Wed. Jul. 13 2005

Police in Edmonton are appealing to the public for help as they probe the mysterious disappearance of a young, pregnant mother.

Liana White, 29, who is four months pregnant with her second child, was reported missing Tuesday after she failed to show up for work at a downtown hospital and her co-workers grew worried.

While's SUV was found Tuesday morning abandoned about 10 blocks from the home she shares with her husband and their daughter. The driver's door was open and White's purse and keys were in the ignition.

Edmonton police spokeswoman Lisa Lammi says investigators are doing a door-to-door canvas of her neighbourhood and asking anyone with any information to come forward. They have also called in homicide detectives.

White's husband said his wife left the house in her green medical scrubs at 6:15 a.m Tuesday. But a jogger who reported the abandoned vehicle says she saw it earlier than that.

Lammi says police are talking to that witness as part of the investigation, but she can't release any details. Police said they have head scores of other tips as well.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1121278830584_116688030/?hub=Canada
 
Disappearance of pregnant mother of toddler shocks quiet, suburban neighbourhood

Karen Kleiss and Florence Loyie, with files from RenataD'Aliesio
The Edmonton Journal
Wednesday, July 13, 2005

EDMONTON - The young, expectant mother at the centre of a massive north-side police search is known as a quiet, friendly woman who always wears a bright smile.

Neighbours on the winding suburban crescent in Dunluce where 29-year-old Liana White and her husband Mike have lived for four years are in shock.

White is four months pregnant with the couple's second child; their first, a girl, is just a toddler.

"She was just here last night with little Ashley, because the little girl wanted to pat my dog, Ginger," neighbour Barb Jama said, tears swelling in her eyes.

"This is so scary. It is hard to even imagine what happened. For her to disappear like this is just so out of character."

Police are treating White's disappearance as suspicious because she has never gone missing before and never failed to show up for work without calling.

"It's very uncharacteristic of her," said acting duty officer Jamie Ewatski.

The couple lives on the kind of street that shuts down for summer block parties, a place where neighbours chat at the end of the driveway -- the perfect place to raise a family.

White was last seen by her husband at 6:15 a.m., when she left for work at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, where she works as a clerk in the neo-natal intensive care unit.

At 7:27 a.m., police received a report of an abandoned SUV in the parking lot between two baseball diamonds near 116th Street and 157th Avenue, a short drive from the White home.

The driver's door of the 1991 Ford Explorer was wide open and White's purse and keys were inside.

Her wallet was missing and her identification and shoes were scattered around the parking lot.

Other personal items were found in the northwest corner of the ballpark. Her cellphone was found in the grass 15 metres away.

There were no signs of struggle, no drag marks and no blood.

Darryl MacMillan, who was walking to the bus stop on 157th Avenue early Tuesday, said he saw the Explorer in the parking lot around 5:55 a.m.

"I thought it was someone out walking their dogs," he said.

A second citizen reported a suspicious vehicle parked at the ball diamond, which police later seized and took in for forensic identification processing.

Homicide, robbery, traffic and forensic units were brought in to help with the search.

Plainclothes surveillance units were taken off regular duty to canvass the neighbourhood.

Canine units searched the park area and the police helicopter Air One flew overhead.

Civilian volunteers flagged down rush-hour traffic and handed out flyers with the young mother's photo, and civilian search-and-rescue teams combed the area.

Ewatski said White's husband Mike was "very distraught" when he learned of his wife's disappearance.

On Tuesday night, the ex-military man and heavy duty mechanic was with police.

Investigators checked with family, local hospitals and emergency medical services, to no avail.

White is described as five feet four and weighing about 190 pounds. She has a fair complexion, brown eyes and brown hair that falls midway down her back. She is likely wearing medical scrubs.

Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call police at
423-4567.

http://www.canada.com/fortstjohn/story.html?id=3e63a309-2e86-4df6-acca-9b05ddef214c
 
So who is lying or just mistaken, the husband or Darryl MacMillan?
The husband claims she left at 6:15 that morning.

Another witness, city worker Darryl MacMillan, told police he saw the Explorer parked in the lot at 5:50 a.m.

Hmmmmm.
 
Sam said:
So who is lying or just mistaken, the husband or Darryl MacMillan?
The husband claims she left at 6:15 that morning.

Another witness, city worker Darryl MacMillan, told police he saw the Explorer parked in the lot at 5:50 a.m.

Hmmmmm.
I had the same thought! Something is not right. This is not looking good for her. :(
 
Hmmm indeed... but the time descrepency could be innocent - either the husband thought it was later than it really was when she left - or the neighbour had the time wrong at 5:50am

A big mystery here... and why were her things so scattered? cell phone 15 metres away like it was flung? :waitasec:
 
Sam said:
So who is lying or just mistaken, the husband or Darryl MacMillan?
The husband claims she left at 6:15 that morning.

Another witness, city worker Darryl MacMillan, told police he saw the Explorer parked in the lot at 5:50 a.m.

Hmmmmm.
Another person also saw the vehicle before 6 a.m. They called police at that time.

I hope I am wrong but the details keep screaming "staged" to me. Things scattered around but no blood, drag marks or signs of a struggle? Just sounds strange.

It sure doesn't sound too good for her though. :( :( :(
 
The LE are having a press conference this afternoon about this case. Last I heard they were looking on the outskirts of Edmonton. Yikes !! I live on the outskirts. I saw the video of the husband to see if his eyes looked down to the left and they did !! We've all become so suspicious because of the Scott Peterson case. At least he didn't use the word amazing when he described her.As soon as I hear anything I'll post, but I'll be out when the evening news is on.
 
Two witnesses say the vehicle was there an hour before police took notice, and before the husband says she left home. Personal items (IDs and etc) strewn around (maybe like breadcrumbs? marking a trail) I hope they are looking at the hubby closely, and I think they will find her body in those woods.
 
Casshew said:
Hmmm indeed... but the time descrepency could be innocent - either the husband thought it was later than it really was when she left - or the neighbour had the time wrong at 5:50am

A big mystery here... and why were her things so scattered? cell phone 15 metres away like it was flung? :waitasec:

You know, I hate to put to much into the time thing, just because in my household, every clock is different. my oldest sets the microwave clock at what his school clock is at, my husband sets his alarm clock for his work time clock. My car is set 10 min. fast so that if I am out bumming before I have to go to work, I am never late. Every clock in our house is different. I do not know if our family is just a little wierd, or if other people do this too?
 
KrazyKollector said:
Another person also saw the vehicle before 6 a.m. They called police at that time.

I hope I am wrong but the details keep screaming "staged" to me. Things scattered around but no blood, drag marks or signs of a struggle? Just sounds strange.

It sure doesn't sound too good for her though. :( :( :(

I know. The first thing I thought when I saw her picture was "Jennifer Wilbanks" run away bride. I feel really bad for thinking that, but I guess I hope I am right. It has happened recently before, with that other supposedly pregnant woman, who turned out not to be pregnant.
 
fourboys said:
Police say they first received a call about the abandoned SUV at 7:27 a.m.

But Marie Olah says she first called police after seeing the vehicle in the parking lot on her way to the gym, before 6 a.m. – before White is said to have left for work.

Other media reports quote a second person who says he also saw the Explorer in the parking lot around 5:55 a.m.

Olah says police didn't take her first call seriously and didn't ask for the licence plate number. She made her second call after passing by the vehicle again and noticing the keys and purse were still inside.

The 7:27 a.m. call that brought officers to the scene was made by someone else.

uh-oh.... seems like someone goofed up in a major way.

Liana White:

ab_white_lianna.jpg
 
lostfaith said:
You know, I hate to put to much into the time thing, just because in my household, every clock is different.

Yeah but that is a HUGE discrepancy! HUGE.
From the time the first call reporting it to the time he said she left.
 
It also seems kind of strange to me that she would leave for work at 6:15 when work is only 5 minutes away and she doesn't start until 7.

*thanks for the invite, Cass*
 
It isn't at all unusual for someone who works in a hospital unit to get to work at least half an hour before the shift starts (in this case, 7am shift). Nurses and clerks need to be there during the "shift change". This is a crucial time when those leaving their shift pass on all the important info to the oncoming shift. You can't just get there at 7 or even just 10 minutes before your shift starts; there has to be a transition period between the two shifts.
 
mom-a-licious said:
It isn't at all unusual for someone who works in a hospital unit to get to work at least half an hour before the shift starts (in this case, 7am shift). Nurses and clerks need to be there during the "shift change". This is a crucial time when those leaving their shift pass on all the important info to the oncoming shift. You can't just get there at 7 or even just 10 minutes before your shift starts; there has to be a transition period between the two shifts.

that sounds reasonable to me!
 
Man appeals for return of missing pregnant wife

CTV.ca News Staff
Updated Wed. Jul. 13 2005

A man whose pregnant wife disappeared while on her way to work sobbed and broke down in tears Wednesday as he pleaded for her return.

Liana White, 29, failed to show up for work Tuesday morning. Her car was found abandoned in a parking lot near her home.

Her disappearance has prompted an intense search by police and civilian volunteers in the couple's suburban Edmonton neighbourhood.

"My wife is a good person, never hurts anybody, never would. She would never hurt a fly. She is a gentle person," Michael White told CTV News.

"Who ever has her, or if she is out there and you see me, or see this, just stay there and we will find you. I will find you."

Police made an appeal of their own Wednesday, asking for the public's help in their search.

White, who is four months pregnant with her second child, was last seen by her husband at 6:15 a.m. when she left in her green medical scrubs for a downtown hospital where she works.

Police say the driver's door of her 1991 brown Ford Explorer was found open and her purse and keys were inside.

White's wallet was missing, her identification and shoes were scattered around the parking lot and her cellphone was found in the grass 15 metres away.

There were no signs of a struggle.

Detectives were checking numerous tips and continued to canvass neighbourhoods.

"We are asking everybody and anybody if they saw anything unusual," said police spokeswoman Lisa Lammi.

"Don't discount anything you think is unusual or irregular."

Police say White has never disappeared before and never failed to show up for work without calling.

Homicide, robbery, traffic and forensic investigators were brought in to help.

Civilian volunteers flagged down rush-hour traffic Tuesday and handed out flyers with the missing woman's photo. Police searched the family's house and seized the vehicle for forensic analysis.

Neighbours on the crescent where the couple have lived for four years are in shock.

White is known as a quiet, friendly woman. The couple's first child, a girl, is just a toddler.

Lammi said police wouldn't comment on a tip that White's abandoned vehicle was reported in the area before 6:15 a.m. -- the time her husband said White left for work.

http://sympaticomsn.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1121278830584_116688030?hub=topstories
 
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