RCMP find SUV belonging to missing Alta. seniors

RCMP say they have found the SUV that belongs to a missing elderly Alberta couple and identified a "person of interest" in the seniors' disappearance this month.

At a news conference Friday, police identified Travis Edward Vader, 38, as someone they are trying to locate to talk to about Lyle McCann, 78 and wife, Marie McCann, 77, a couple who disappeared somewhere between the Edmonton area and the B.C. coast this month.

RCMP described Vader as dangerous and said members of the public should not approach him. They said he is a known drug user who could be in possession of firearms. He has multiple outstanding warrants on weapons charges, police said.

"A person of interest might be a witness, it might be someone who becomes a suspect . . . or becomes an accused," said RCMP Assistant Commissioner Peter Hourihan, adding that Vader has been of interest for the past 24 hours. "It's a person we feel has information that can provide us with information to further this investigation."

Later in the day, police said they had found the couple's missing SUV.

Investigators were on site and a forensic examination of the vehicle was underway, police said in a news release.

Police did not reveal where the vehicle had been found, saying the area was considered a potential crime scene.

The McCanns were last seen refuelling their motorhome July 3 at about 9:30 a.m. in St. Albert, outside Edmonton.

The couple were headed to British Columbia to meet up with their daughter, but they never arrived.

The McCannns' motorhome was found engulfed in flames at a campground, but there was no sign of the couple or the SUV they had been towing behind the motorhome.

"We don't believe any particular (scenario), but we suspect foul play. Everybody can draw their own conclusions," Hourihan told reporters.

"This is completely out of character (for the couple) not to have contacted their daughter . . . and arrived on time. We assume the worst and hope for the best."

On a Facebook page under Vader's name, he is pictured with a young girl in his profile photograph and is described as a self-employed drilling consultant.

A brief biography box under the photo reads: "Life is great there is so much to learn and experiance (sic) the next 30 years are going to be awsome (sic)."

Hourihan said police are asking for help in finding Vader, whose Facebook profile lists his hometown as Summerland, B.C.

"We don't know where Mr. Vader is right now, and we need the public's help in trying to locate him," Hourihan said.

"We need the public also to know that Mr. Vader should be considered dangerous and that any sightings of him should be reported to police immediately and he should not be approached."

The latest break came after several days of criticism over how the RCMP have handled the McCanns' disappearance.

Hourihan said a review has been launched of the police investigation, and one RCMP member has been placed on administrative duty.

Shortly after the couple was reported missing on July 10, RCMP revealed that the missing motorhome had been found on fire five days earlier near the Minnow Lake campground southeast of Edson, Alta. The delay in starting a missing-persons investigation has been one source of the public criticism.

Then, on Tuesday, two residents in Prince George, B.C., came forward to report having seen an SUV matching the description of the McCann's vehicle. The pair left without leaving contact information.

Sgt. Patrick Webb said a civilian employee at the Prince George detachment failed to record contact information from the witnesses, which would be a breach of normal RCMP procedures.

Police managed to reach them again later.

"I think a couple of mistakes have been made and I don't mean to minimize those mistakes in any way, shape or form," Hourihan said Friday.

"We have some of the best investigators we have to offer on this . . . and they're working very closely with the family and, in that overall perspective, I think we're doing everything we can, in spite of the fact we might have made a mistake at the beginning."

With files from Global News, Edmonton Journal