Lisa GAVIN – Case Overview | Vancouver Police Department Cold Cases (vpdcoldcases.ca)
''Lisa GAVIN – Case Overview
When Sharon Tuerling spotted her foster sister, Lisa Gavin, at the corner of Main and Hastings on August 12, 1988, she had no way of knowing it would be the last time she would see her alive. It was 11:00 p.m., and Sharon was in a car with her fiancé. They drove around the block, but when they returned, Lisa was gone.
About 45 minutes later, Lisa left a friend’s apartment near East Broadway and St Catherine’s Street to go to work, and said she would be back within the hour to purchase cocaine. Lisa, a sex worker, struggled with addiction, which had begun in her early teens.
At 6:50 the following morning, Lisa’s partially clothed body was found by a resident in a lane near Knight Street and East 49th Avenue. She was wearing a black short-sleeved t-shirt with lace on the sleeves and on the bottom hem of the shirt. The front of the shirt had the words “Gerry’s Country Inn, Calgary” in blue.
Lisa was 5’2″ tall and weighed 123 pounds. She had brown hair with bleached tips and hazel eyes. She was only 21 years old when she was murdered. Sadly, just one month later, her close friend, Glenna Sowan, was also murdered.
For the first nine years of her life, Lisa lived with a loving foster family, which still mourns their loss. Investigators believe someone has information about Lisa’s murder. Help us catch a killer.''
March 31 2022
Vancouver crime news: 1988 murders added to cold case website | CTV News
''Two unsolved murders committed weeks apart back in 1988 have been added to the Vancouver Police Department's cold case website, as investigators seek fresh information that could finally bring the killers to justice.
The website features crime scene photos, news clippings, maps and details that could potentially jog someone's memories of Lisa Gavin and Glenna "Dusty" Sowan, two friends whose killers have managed to evade law enforcement for decades.''
''Gavin was last seen alive shortly before midnight on Aug. 12, 1988, when she left a friend's apartment near Broadway and St. Catherine's Street.
The 21-year-old was expected back an hour later, but never returned – and her partially clothed body was later discovered in a lane near Knight Street and East 49th Avenue.
Sowan's last sighting was on Sept. 29 of that year, at an apartment near East 6th Avenue and George Street. She went out sometime between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., and her naked body turned up the following day in some bushes near West 24th Avenue and Willow Street.
Gavin is described as white, 123 lbs., 5'2" tall with hazel eyes and brown hair with bleached tips. She was found wearing a black T-shirt with lace on the sleeves and bottom hem, and the words "Gerry's Country Inn, Calgary" in blue letters on the front.
Sowan is described as Indigenous, 92 lbs., 5'2" tall with shoulder-length black hair. The clothing she had been wearing on the night of her murder was never located.
Authorities urged anyone with information on either murder to come forward. Addison said "even the smallest piece of evidence" could help crack the cold cases.''
Lisa Gavin's body was found near Knight Street and East 49th Avenue on Aug. 13, 1988. (VPD Cold Cases)
''Lisa GAVIN – Case Overview
When Sharon Tuerling spotted her foster sister, Lisa Gavin, at the corner of Main and Hastings on August 12, 1988, she had no way of knowing it would be the last time she would see her alive. It was 11:00 p.m., and Sharon was in a car with her fiancé. They drove around the block, but when they returned, Lisa was gone.
About 45 minutes later, Lisa left a friend’s apartment near East Broadway and St Catherine’s Street to go to work, and said she would be back within the hour to purchase cocaine. Lisa, a sex worker, struggled with addiction, which had begun in her early teens.
At 6:50 the following morning, Lisa’s partially clothed body was found by a resident in a lane near Knight Street and East 49th Avenue. She was wearing a black short-sleeved t-shirt with lace on the sleeves and on the bottom hem of the shirt. The front of the shirt had the words “Gerry’s Country Inn, Calgary” in blue.
Lisa was 5’2″ tall and weighed 123 pounds. She had brown hair with bleached tips and hazel eyes. She was only 21 years old when she was murdered. Sadly, just one month later, her close friend, Glenna Sowan, was also murdered.
For the first nine years of her life, Lisa lived with a loving foster family, which still mourns their loss. Investigators believe someone has information about Lisa’s murder. Help us catch a killer.''
March 31 2022
Vancouver crime news: 1988 murders added to cold case website | CTV News
''Two unsolved murders committed weeks apart back in 1988 have been added to the Vancouver Police Department's cold case website, as investigators seek fresh information that could finally bring the killers to justice.
The website features crime scene photos, news clippings, maps and details that could potentially jog someone's memories of Lisa Gavin and Glenna "Dusty" Sowan, two friends whose killers have managed to evade law enforcement for decades.''
''Gavin was last seen alive shortly before midnight on Aug. 12, 1988, when she left a friend's apartment near Broadway and St. Catherine's Street.
The 21-year-old was expected back an hour later, but never returned – and her partially clothed body was later discovered in a lane near Knight Street and East 49th Avenue.
Sowan's last sighting was on Sept. 29 of that year, at an apartment near East 6th Avenue and George Street. She went out sometime between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., and her naked body turned up the following day in some bushes near West 24th Avenue and Willow Street.
Gavin is described as white, 123 lbs., 5'2" tall with hazel eyes and brown hair with bleached tips. She was found wearing a black T-shirt with lace on the sleeves and bottom hem, and the words "Gerry's Country Inn, Calgary" in blue letters on the front.
Sowan is described as Indigenous, 92 lbs., 5'2" tall with shoulder-length black hair. The clothing she had been wearing on the night of her murder was never located.
Authorities urged anyone with information on either murder to come forward. Addison said "even the smallest piece of evidence" could help crack the cold cases.''
Lisa Gavin's body was found near Knight Street and East 49th Avenue on Aug. 13, 1988. (VPD Cold Cases)
