CANADA Canada - Nick, 55, & Lisa Masee, 39, North Vancouver, 11 Aug 1994

[dotr]

There is an excellent article by Terry Gould called "Bank Error". Was in Vancouver Magazine in Fall 1995. Describes an arms deal gone awry; alleges Nick Masee was the banker for the deal. The main player in the deal was Don Shwery, who passed away 9 August 1994 from a sudden heart attack/stroke, just two days before Masee and his wife disappeared.

Very interesting, looking for more information about the arms deal, have not come across that article just yet.
Is the arms dealing something like this movie based on a true story, presumably without the comedic aspects?

Trailer #2
''Based on the true story of two young men, David Packouz and Efraim Diveroli, who won a $300 million contract from the Pentagon to arm America's allies in Afghanistan.''

 

[LadyL]

the zip ties tell a tale IMO
and the phonecalls to bosses were probably made under duress
if they were living beyond their means, as someone suggested, why was Lisa taking a bus?

 

[Greg Tweed]

Welcome to WS Greg. Odd, indeed. Makes little sense that they fretted over the reservation to then ignore it and visit the neighboring Bayshore Lounge. Do we know of any witnesses to the couples behavior prior to the day they vanished? MOO

Nick attended a funeral for Glenn Hyatt on Tuesday 9 August. It was well attended; Mr Hyatt was a business and community leader. Both he and Nick were strong supporters of BC Ballet. There was some commentary that Nick looked visibly upset at the funeral, which could be attributed to the passing of Mr Hyatt, but I have been unable to corroborate this. The main player in the arms deal was Don Shwery, who passed away at about 430pm that same day. The funeral was at 2pm, so I am assuming Nick was not aware of Shwery passing until at least 6-7pm that night. The meeting at Trader Vic's was the next night.

Otherwise, Nick and Lisa seemed normal.

 

[Greg Tweed]

Welcome to WS Greg. Odd, indeed. Makes little sense that they fretted over the reservation to then ignore it and visit the neighboring Bayshore Lounge. Do we know of any witnesses to the couples behavior prior to the day they vanished? MOO

Nick attended a funeral for Glenn Hyatt on Tuesday 9 August. It was well attended; Mr Hyatt was a business and community leader. Both he and Nick were strong supporters of BC Ballet. There was some commentary that Nick looked visibly upset at the funeral, which could be attributed to the passing of Mr Hyatt, but I have been unable to corroborate this. The main player in the arms deal was Don Shwery, who passed away at about 430pm that same day. The funeral was at 2pm, so I am assuming Nick was not aware of Shwery passing until at least 6-7pm that night. The meeting at Trader Vic's was the next night.

Otherwise, Nick and Lisa seemed normal.

Very interesting, looking for more information about the arms deal, have not come across that article just yet.
Is the arms dealing something like this movie based on a true story, presumably without the comedic aspects?

Trailer #2
''Based on the true story of two young men, David Packouz and Efraim Diveroli, who won a $300 million contract from the Pentagon to arm America's allies in Afghanistan.''

I tried uploading the article, but my digital copy in over 50MB. Just read the Wiki blurb on "War Dogs"; sorry, not similar. But looks like a good movie!

 

[Greg Tweed]

the zip ties tell a tale IMO
and the phonecalls to bosses were probably made under duress
if they were living beyond their means, as someone suggested, why was Lisa taking a bus?

The zip ties were tested for DNA; nothing came back.

Lisa called both Nick's company (Turbodyne) and her hair salon, at about 10am on Thursday 11 August, both calls from Nick's cell phone, which would have been a the size of a brick back in 1994. Apparently the calls bounced off the Bowen Island repeater (there was only one on the island back in 1994, on the souther side), suggesting the call came from somewhere on a boat in Burrard Inlet or toward Howe Sound, from West Vancouver, some parts of North Vancouver, or the west side of Vancouver toward UBC.

Great question about the bus; I have no answer for that. Nick used to go in early, maybe before Lisa started?

 

[dotr]

Wondering what could have happened in January 1994 and if anyone noticed any changes in LM's demeanor too? rbbm.
2019 rbbm.
Family of North Vancouver couple missing for 25 years still searching for answers - Vancouver Is Awesome
''Nick had worked as a senior private banker for the Bank of Montreal for more than 35 years before resigning in January 1994 to join Turbodyne. While with the bank, he had counted some of Vancouver's wealthiest and most controversial financial players among his associates.

Some people speculated Masée Sr. had somehow run afoul of the wrong people.

A further unsettling detail was the revelation that the couple had made a secret trip to the Cayman Islands in April 1994, just months before they disappeared and opened a bank account there, without telling family or friends. “That’s a mysterious circumstance that causes us to ask larger questions,” said DeVries.

Masée Van Ravenzwaaij had moved to the Netherlands a year before her father disappeared, but “every week he phoned and told me what was going on in his life,” she said. He flew home to visit that Christmas. But starting in January 1994, her father’s demeanour changed, she said. He became secretive in a way he hadn’t been before, she said. “It was completely out of character.”

 

[Greg Tweed]

Wondering what could have happened in January 1994 and if anyone noticed any changes in LM's demeanor too? rbbm.
2019 rbbm.
Family of North Vancouver couple missing for 25 years still searching for answers - Vancouver Is Awesome
''Nick had worked as a senior private banker for the Bank of Montreal for more than 35 years before resigning in January 1994 to join Turbodyne. While with the bank, he had counted some of Vancouver's wealthiest and most controversial financial players among his associates.

Some people speculated Masée Sr. had somehow run afoul of the wrong people.

A further unsettling detail was the revelation that the couple had made a secret trip to the Cayman Islands in April 1994, just months before they disappeared and opened a bank account there, without telling family or friends. “That’s a mysterious circumstance that causes us to ask larger questions,” said DeVries.

Masée Van Ravenzwaaij had moved to the Netherlands a year before her father disappeared, but “every week he phoned and told me what was going on in his life,” she said. He flew home to visit that Christmas. But starting in January 1994, her father’s demeanour changed, she said. He became secretive in a way he hadn’t been before, she said. “It was completely out of character.”

Yes, she was close with her dad and noted a difference. Nick retired from BMO in January 1994, after about 35 years. He was the banker of choice to most VSE stock promoters. He was professional and discrete. After his retirement, he and Lisa went to Hawaii for about one month, which is what they did each year as they held a timeshare there. Then they went to the Caymans in April 1994. They did not tell anyone about the trip, which in itself was out of character, but once they returned, they told family where they had gone. I have confirmed this with a third party who advised they go to the Caymans. Then Nick settled in with Turbodyne.

While in the Caymans, they opened up a company and corresponding bank account. They used a colleague of Nick's who was attorney there. The company and bank account have since been shut down.

 

[tarabull]

Missing North Vancouver, BC couple may have been murdered - Vancouver Is Awesome

ETA:
S1 E4: Missing or Murdered? The Mysterious Disappearance of Nick and Lisa Masee | Eve Lazarus

 

[dotr]

Missing North Vancouver, BC couple may have been murdered - Vancouver Is Awesome

ETA:
S1 E4: Missing or Murdered? The Mysterious Disappearance of Nick and Lisa Masee | Eve Lazarus

New article, thanks!
''The first hint that something was wrong was the unlocked door at the Masees' house. The security system was off, their car was in the driveway, their 17-year-old cat was inside the house and so were their passports. Two plastic ties, similar to the ones that police use for handcuffs, were found just inside the front entrance.''

 

[The 'Wood]

Hey all, Just reading about this case for the first time.

"While in the Caymans, they opened up a company and corresponding bank account. They used a colleague of Nick's who was attorney there. The company and bank account have since been shut down."

I wonder: was it shut down due to inactivity? Because Nick was missing for so long? Did someone request the shutdown? Or, shut down without anyone knowing why?

 

[Tobiano8th]

back in the news this week, but no new developments.

along the lines of the "Sherman murders", why kidnap/kill the wife?

that arms deal gone wrong and Don Shwery looks interesting.. haven't tried to find the story yet.

 

[Tobiano8th]

did Nick's bank finance arms deals?.

i'm thinking if "yes", it's a pretty standard arms deal and even if it fell through there wouldn't be hard feelings. just finance it elsewhere or restructure it to get approval.

if it's a covert/unsanctioned arms deal then i doubt the bank would be involved but there could be massive "hard feelings" over this deal falling apart. really bad if $100MM (arbitrary number) in cash disappeared.

who is Don Schwery? couldn't find much with google....... wife's obituary years after his death, and believe it or not, he is described as a scout for the New York Yankees (introduction of Don as guest at BC Legislature)

 

[Tobiano8th]

i would note for those who haven't clicked through on all the stories, no use of credit cards or bank accounts. presumably lots of equity in the house, but obviously they can't use that if they fled.

i knew the daughter (not well) .. thought they lived in the townhouses across from Westview Shopping Center. but that is either wrong or it could be correct 1979 information

 

[Tobiano8th]

i see old detective thinks they voluntarily disappeared i.e. split........ i just find that so hard to believe. seems their canadian cash/credit cards were never touched. maybe offshore money but that seemed limited (although necessarily small.. seen different info.. but anyway, nothing that would last more than a year or two)... i also assume a passport might aid your efforts disappear (and then at some point, you ditch the passports)

 

[kemo]

I have just learned of this case and find it an intriguing mystery. The starting question is really: “we’re the couple dirty?”.

People do not vanish, breaking of all contact with family just it escape ordinary debts to legitimate creditors. They file for bankruptcy and go back to work. Of course, if their debts are to the sort of folks who operate outside the system, that would be different. On the other hand, people who have other compelling reasons to disappear might very borrow every dime they could to add to whatever else they had stashed.

This guy Schwery seems pretty dirty and the fact that the Masee’s moved so quickly after his death seems suspicious. If there is any reason to believe that he was in fact murdered, it is possible that they ran to avoid the same fate (and possibly didn’t run fast enough). If it certain that his death was natural, they could have been involved in something dirty with him that would now leave then exposed. Conversely, it may have created an opportunity for them to make off with a lot of cash. Of course, that death could be a coincidence, but I really hate coincidences.

Nothing has come out that Masee was involved in any dirty business or he was running to escape prosecution; perhaps with a lot of money stashed away. There is, however, no reason to believe Law Enforcement would disclose this information. People involved in criminal actively often become become murder victims either out of fear they might turn on their associates or their associates unwillingness to split their proceeds.

 

[MrsWatson]

Just stumbled across this case. So mysterious.

 

[Tobiano8th]

seems bizarre that seemingly the NVPD (RCMP?) didn't/don't have any good leads.

the one person brings up a good point.. death of that schwery fellow may have made things unravel badly (although again, you'd think the police could find this out) or given a great opportunity to M's (abscond with $100M or something like that....... then they wouldn't need their own savings/credit cards. but again, surely a fair number of people would know about this)

assuming the 2 kids don't know something they won't admit (and seems no suggestion of that), the whole thing is really BAFFLING

i guess killed to "keep quiet or revenge" makes some sense.

 

[Tobiano8th]

anyone have access to Terry Gould Vancouver Magazine story??

 

[Tobiano8th]

i would have to go back over this to see the timing.

what is the timing between 1) funeral/subsequent death of Schwery 2) proposed dinner drinks at Trader Vic's (Bayshore Hotel), 3) drinks/dinner for hours at another Bayshore Hotel lounge (same night or different from aborted TV dinner); 4) Masees disappearing.

it seems to me if the Masees "took off" that it would require some planning and they would not have been hanging out having drinks for hours at a downtown Vancouver hotel right before they disappeared.

for non-Vancouverites, Bayshore is incredibly beautiful hotel and location (a bit harmed by more recent condo development) and Howard Hughes lived there in the 1970s (presumably avoiding the IRS or the US government in general)

 

[Tobiano8th]

ok, so aborted TV meeting and Masee's having drinks at Bayshore Hotel for hours (TV was at Bayshore Hotel) was same night. and night before Masees disappearing.

not sure of the timing re: funeral and Schwery death vs. disappearing.

much loved cat hadn't been fed in 2 days.... you'd think if you knowlingly disappeared, you'd A) put the cat out, B) leave it alot of water/food, C) maybe take the cat with you... of course, B) and C), and maybe A), would arouse suspicion that you fled. at same time, i can't see cat lovers leaving a cat to suffer.... and if they disappeared voluntarily, would they not have tried to tip off the authorities in an innocous way.

seems like professional abduction. surprised police don't seem to know exactly why....... maybe just revenge for some VSE scam