Identified! Canada - Tofield, AB, 'Septic Tank Sam' Ntv/WhtMale 1046UMAB, Apr'77 - Gordon Edwin Sanderson

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DFrancisco said:
Wouldn't that be great?! Do you have information as to where the investigation might currently stand as far as his identity is concerned?!
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If you are still in contact with Sgt. Lammerts can you ask him if they could identify where he had resided from radio isotopes. I know they found he had illnesses at a young age but I can't remember if they stated where his likely residence was.
 
branmuffin said:
If you are still in contact with Sgt. Lammerts can you ask him if they could identify where he had resided from radio isotopes. I know they found he had illnesses at a young age but I can't remember if they stated where his likely residence was.
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I believe the radio isotopes stated that he was from Canada and he lived somewhere in the Alberta area.
 
Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I'm under the impression that isotope analysis is very unreliable as a means of pinpointing where someone is from. I'm reminded of the Beth Doe case, where they said isotope analysis indicated she had grown up in Europe, and it turned out she was just a regular American girl, not a European immigrant.

Also, the comment a few pages back from Greg that "Sam has some Indigenous ancestry" is very vague. "Some" could mean anything from 1% to 99%. Lots of Canadians have some indigenous ancestry but might not even know it and look completely white. In any case, I think genetic genealogy is the key to finding out who he is. Has the DNA Doe Project considered this case?
 
Grzegorz said:
Someone correct me if I'm wrong but I'm under the impression that isotope analysis is very unreliable as a means of pinpointing where someone is from. I'm reminded of the Beth Doe case, where they said isotope analysis indicated she had grown up in Europe, and it turned out she was just a regular American girl, not a European immigrant.

Also, the comment a few pages back from Greg that "Sam has some Indigenous ancestry" is very vague. "Some" could mean anything from 1% to 99%. Lots of Canadians have some indigenous ancestry but might not even know it and look completely white. In any case, I think genetic genealogy is the key to finding out who he is. Has the DNA Doe Project considered this case?
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I would think they are familiar with the case, at least, or had people reach out to suggest it. Maybe there will be a bigger push to try to identify more indigenous/First Nations Does after the identification of Shirley Soosay last month.
 
Ozoner said:
He was probably a local. I'm guessing that quite a few people know exactly who he was.
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I would guess that too. Back in the 40s or 50s my theory is he was born to an aboriginal mother and an unknown caucasian father in Alberta, then given up to a foster home or even institutionalized as a young child because the mother wasn’t able to care for him due to illness, death or for some other reason. Back then he wouldn’t have been a legitimate member of any band if his father wasn’t aboriginal. By the time he reached adulthood he had no strong ties with anyone as he moved around from one farm job to the next. Nobody reported him missing although quite possibly several locals were involved in his demise. However the old time honour code prevailed - one doesn’t rat out relatives, friends or neighbours, particularly true in rural areas.

In the ‘70s in Alberta what was perceived to be justice was delivered in various ways, not always through the courts. JMO
 
Rle7 said:
Unidentified White Male
I think I may have stumbled upon some potentially interesting information on the web. It was a blog by an old white American man who met Ojibwe people on his trips across North America in the 70s. There were many photos of the young Ojibwe men on the blog and there were clothed in exactly the same way that Sam was. Plaid button shirts, hats, and earth shoes. They showed the blogger and his father how to make boats. I don't remember the place. I'm not from North America so it isn't easy for me to remember the names of places in the region. One of the men looked similar to Sam. The blogger also mentioned that he tried to contact the Ojibwe men in the photos but has no knowledge of their whereabouts. I made a comment regarding our Sam on the blog and my comment was promptly deleted. That blog no longer exists. I am unable to find it anywhere on the web. Will anyone look into this, please?



    • The victim was discovered on April 1977 in Tofield, Alberta, Canada
    • Estimated Date of Death: Several months
Vital Statistics




    • Estimated age: 28 years old
    • Approximate Height and Weight: 5' 6".
    • Distinguishing Characteristics: He was right-handed.
    • Clothing: Blue Levis shirt with snap buttons; white t-shirt; blue jeans; brown "Wallabee-type" shoes; grey wool socks.
    • Dentals: Available His dental records have also been sent to more than 800 dentists across Canada, to no avail.
    • DNA: Available
Case History
The victim was located in a rural 1.8-metre-deep septic tank, about 1.6 kilometres from a house, in Tofield, Alberta in April 1977. Police nicknamed him "Septic Tank Sam".
Authorities also believe he was a labourer and likely suffered an illness around the age of 5. Police suspect the victim was a "transient" and not from Alberta. The homicide probably wasn't random because of how vicious it was. They also suspect the killer might have been familiar with the area or been from a farming background, given the use of the septic tank, which was located on a rural and isolated property.
Sam's body was buried in a pauper's grave in Edmonton.

Investigators
If you have any information about this case please contact:
RCMP - Tofield Detachment
Sergeant Jim Warren
780-662-3353

You may remain anonymous when submitting information.
NCIC Number:

Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case. Source Information:
The Globe and Mail

1046UMAB
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I think I may have stumbled upon some potentially interesting information on the web. It was a blog by an old white American man who met Ojibwe people on his trips across North America in the 70s. There were many photos of the young Ojibwe men on the blog and they were clothed in exactly the same way that Sam was. Plaid button shirts, hats, and the same kind of shoes. They showed the blogger and his father how to make boats. I don't remember the place. I'm not from North America so it isn't easy for me to remember the names of places in the region. One of the men looked similar to Sam. The blogger also mentioned that he tried to contact the Ojibwe men in the photos but has no knowledge of their whereabouts. I made a comment regarding our Sam on the blog and my comment was promptly deleted. That blog no longer exists. I am unable to find it anywhere on the web. Will anyone look into this, please?
 
Not to rain on anybodys party but how sure is it he was Native or with a Native parent? Just curious, because I do not know if any genetic analysis has been done on him so far. And morphological assessment is not sufficient to prove or disprove Native descent (Shirley Soosay who was fully Native was classified as White, also the lady who was found in some storage locker recently... while Karen Knippers was classfied as Native when she was white with no known Native ancestry).

Id say we should try to get some genetic genealogy company to work on Sam.
 
IlookforDoes said:
I think I may have stumbled upon some potentially interesting information on the web. It was a blog by an old white American man who met Ojibwe people on his trips across North America in the 70s. There were many photos of the young Ojibwe men on the blog and they were clothed in exactly the same way that Sam was. Plaid button shirts, hats, and the same kind of shoes. They showed the blogger and his father how to make boats. I don't remember the place. I'm not from North America so it isn't easy for me to remember the names of places in the region. One of the men looked similar to Sam. The blogger also mentioned that he tried to contact the Ojibwe men in the photos but has no knowledge of their whereabouts. I made a comment regarding our Sam on the blog and my comment was promptly deleted. That blog no longer exists. I am unable to find it anywhere on the web. Will anyone look into this, please?
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The photos of Ojibwe people were probably taken in eastern Canada because that’s where the tribe is located. Canada is a huge country in terms of land mass, more than 5,000km from coast to coast. Alberta is in Western Canada, home to several different First Nations tribes. Many share similar physical characteristics. The casual clothing was also very common for labourer/farm worker to wear at the time.

So regretfully I think the odds are very low that Sam was captured in the photo which you noticed although the person may’ve indeed looked similar to him because of Aboriginal heritage.

Indigenous peoples of Canada - population:
Indigenous peoples in Canada - Wikipedia

upload_2021-6-1_6-43-30.png
 
Susikatze said:
Not to rain on anybodys party but how sure is it he was Native or with a Native parent? Just curious, because I do not know if any genetic analysis has been done on him so far. And morphological assessment is not sufficient to prove or disprove Native descent (Shirley Soosay who was fully Native was classified as White, also the lady who was found in some storage locker recently... while Karen Knippers was classfied as Native when she was white with no known Native ancestry).

Id say we should try to get some genetic genealogy company to work on Sam.
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“Some Indigenous ancestry” seems to indicate he was Métis.

post #227
Rootje said:
Fellow Sleuthers!

I asked Greg for some more info, he’s the kindest investigator I have ever encountered! He told me this:

“Hi Ronin,

Sam has some Indigenous ancestry and from his teeth had a high fever at a young age.

FYI: I'm a bit of a history buff and interested in peoples' ancestry.

-Greg”

Now repeat after me: thank you, Greg! :D:p;)
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Susikatze said:
"Some" indigenous ancestry is very vague. That can mean anything from trace amounts or even noise to one "full blood" Native parent or more
I am staying tuned for more info.
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Yes it is vague. But many Canadians including Albertans have “some” indigenous ancestry simply because of the predominance of the original Aboriginal people who came here first and then later integrated with other nationalities, often Europeans, resulting in many future generations of mixed ancestry. This same integrated ancestry is common to the area and the Tofield history is tied to the Cree. There are fairly large Aboriginal reserves both to the north and west. Generation after generation, is anyone pure anything or even 50/50 in their ancestry any more, I really do doubt it.

This is why I believe there’s a greater chance any aboriginal ancestry associated with Sam is highly likely to be tied to Central Alberta, rather than he arrived from anywhere further afar.

Tofield - Wikipedia
History
“Before 1865, only Aboriginal people lived in this area, the home of the Cree. Beaverhill Lake (known then as Beaver or Beaver Hills Lake) was full of fish and wildfowl. A variety of wild fruits could be eaten fresh or added to pemmican. Big game animals, including herds of bison, were available for food and clothing.

Tofield's Aboriginal legacy is evident in the names of local creeks: Maskawan, Amisk and Ketchamoot. The latter refers to Chief Ketchamoot who came from Ft. Pitt in 1860 to help the local Crees against their traditional Blackfoot enemies. Victorious, he remained in the area, and is buried on the bank of the Ketchamoot Creek.”
 
Sgt Lammerts is unusually specific regarding the current age of the possible suspect. So if my math is correct, in 1976, the possible year of the murder, he has reason to believe the perp/s would’ve been appx 23 to 28 years of age, quite close to the same estimated age of Sam as well (26-32).

BBM


Who killed 'Septic Tank Sam?'
“To this day, Sgt. Lammerts has his suspicions of who may be the killer(s)……

…..Sgt. Lammerts said someone capable of the torture and murder isn’t normal and without a doubt is cruel.

“That type of cruelty; beaten, burn marks all over, torture, you have to have a different background to do that.”

The person who committed the murder – if still alive – would be 67 to 72 now (2019) and it hasn’t bothered his conscience (yet), he pointed out….”
 
IDENTIFIED!!! NAME RELEASED ON WED.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/septic-tank-sam-killed-1977-1.6083537

''A man whose death in Alberta has fascinated armchair detectives for years has finally been identified by the RCMP using genetic genealogy, The Fifth Estate has learned.

The victim, whose name is expected to be released on Wednesday, was nicknamed Septic Tank Sam by the RCMP after he was found in a septic tank at a rural farm just outside Tofield, Alta., on April 13, 1977. The farm was owned by Mavis and Charlie McLeod, both now deceased.''


''David Mittelman, a geneticist and the CEO who runs Othram Inc., a private laboratory in Texas, declined to comment on whether his company was involved.

Othram specializes in the recovery and analysis of human DNA from degraded or contaminated forensic evidence. They also do genealogical research to try to identify the person the DNA belongs to for policing agencies in Canada and the U.S. They first hit the headlines in Canada after they identified the unknown killer in the 1984 murder of nine-year-old Christine Jessop.

The McLeods' daughter said that she has been aware that the RCMP started working on the case again within the past two years because she was called in for an interview. ''


''Lammerts said he believes the killer is dead by now but said that if he is still living, he is unlikely to face justice.

"How [are] you going to punish the guy now anyway?" Lammerts said. "You going to send an 82-year-old guy to jail now? What do you do with an 82-year-old man that killed somebody 50 years ago?"

''The RCMP headquarters in Ottawa did not respond to requests to confirm that they had solved the case.
David Mittelman, a geneticist and the CEO who runs Othram Inc., a private laboratory in Texas, declined to comment on whether his company was involved. ''
 
dotr said:
IDENTIFIED!!! NAME RELEASED ON WED.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/septic-tank-sam-killed-1977-1.6083537

''A man whose death in Alberta has fascinated armchair detectives for years has finally been identified by the RCMP using genetic genealogy, The Fifth Estate has learned.

The victim, whose name is expected to be released on Wednesday, was nicknamed Septic Tank Sam by the RCMP after he was found in a septic tank at a rural farm just outside Tofield, Alta., on April 13, 1977. The farm was owned by Mavis and Charlie McLeod, both now deceased.''


''David Mittelman, a geneticist and the CEO who runs Othram Inc., a private laboratory in Texas, declined to comment on whether his company was involved.

Othram specializes in the recovery and analysis of human DNA from degraded or contaminated forensic evidence. They also do genealogical research to try to identify the person the DNA belongs to for policing agencies in Canada and the U.S. They first hit the headlines in Canada after they identified the unknown killer in the 1984 murder of nine-year-old Christine Jessop.

The McLeods' daughter said that she has been aware that the RCMP started working on the case again within the past two years because she was called in for an interview. ''


''Lammerts said he believes the killer is dead by now but said that if he is still living, he is unlikely to face justice.

"How [are] you going to punish the guy now anyway?" Lammerts said. "You going to send an 82-year-old guy to jail now? What do you do with an 82-year-old man that killed somebody 50 years ago?"

''The RCMP headquarters in Ottawa did not respond to requests to confirm that they had solved the case.
David Mittelman, a geneticist and the CEO who runs Othram Inc., a private laboratory in Texas, declined to comment on whether his company was involved. ''
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Wow! Great find dotr! I wonder why 'The Fifth Estate' would be releasing this information as opposed to police???
 
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