Terry Driver - The Abbotsford Killer

The world in 1995 was quite different than what it is today. Cell phones were huge monstrosities that no one really used. The first Toy Story movie wouldn't be released until late in the year. Music was still listened to mainly on the radio, and in 1995 the Billboard Top Songs that year were Gangsta's Paradise by Coolio and Boombastic by Shaggy.

In Abbotsford, BC, on October 14, 1995, Tanya Smith aged 16, and Misty Cockerill aged 15 decided to go to a party at a friends house. After the party was over, they weren't ready for the night to end, so they decided to walk a short distance to another friends house who was having another party. Their path took them close to the Abbotsford Hospital.

While walking to that second party, a man, who possibly was listening to their conversation, jumped out from behind some bushes brandishing an aluminum baseball bat.

Murder in Port Essington! The Murder Case of Loretta Chisholm

Port Essington was a town located on the Skeena River between Prince Rupert and Terrace. Founded in 1871, it has always been a small community.  In 1926 Port Essington had only approximately a few hundred people at most living there. Now, Port Essington is a ghost town.

Port Essington 1915

Loretta Chisholm was a young schoolteacher working in Port Essington in 1926. Described as a very well respected teacher, Loretta was "a real lady". On Sunday, May 23, 1926, Loretta decided to take a walk before breakfast and before she went to church, but people became alarmed when she did not come back in time for breakfast. Port Essington was still a pretty wild territory, and people had warned Loretta about going for walks alone. Not because she might run into foul play, but because she might run into a wolf or bear. Little did they know, young Loretta ran into an animal of the human variety. After a short search was organized, searchers found Loretta.

Loretta Chisholm was murdered that Sunday in 1926. She was only 21 when she fell victim to a brutal attack. She was viciously beaten. Her face was battered and jaw was broken, her chest had been crushed, she sustained significant internal injuries, and moss stuffed down her throat in an attempt to silence her cries.

Joeseph Sankey, a First Nations man, was arrested under suspicion of murdering Loretta. He was arrested within 2 hours of searchers finding Loretta's body. He had been seen walking in the same direction as Loretta shortly after she had passed a boat captain and other witnesses.

Amanda Todd

In honor of World Mental Health Day, I would like to tell you the story of Amanda Todd. Amanda Todd was a young girl living in Port Coquitlam, BC. A victim of bullying, Amanda committed suicide in 2012 at the age of 15.

In 2009-2010, Amanda had used video chat to meet new people, often getting complimented on her good looks. One individual she chatted with over the course of about 1 year eventually convinced her to send him a topless picture. He later blackmailed her, saying that he would post the picture online and on friends Facebook page unless she gave him a "show".

Who Killed Ramona Wilson?

Smithers is a small town in northern British Columbia, nestled along the long stretch of Highway 16. This places the close-knit community right in the middle of the infamous Highway of Tears.

The Highway of Tears is the portion of Highway 16 from Prince George to Prince Rupert, stretching 720 kilometers. When driving this highway, people are treated to a beautiful landscape that changes from lower flat fields and farmland to towering mountains. Another thing you will notice along this highway is how isolated it is. You can often be driving for an hour or more between towns.

Ramona Wilson was a bright young first nations girl, aged 16, living with her mother and other siblings in Smithers, BC.  Ramona was a typical teenager, she had a part-time job at a local restaurant and liked hanging out with her friends. Her mother Matilda said her daughter loved writing poetry and reads them often when she thinks of her. Even after all this time, Matilda still finds it hard to speak about her daughter.

The Somerton Man

The case of the Somerton Man is a curious one indeed. With many questions and few answers. While this is not a Canadian case, it is so strange I wanted to share it with everyone.

The Somerton Man is also known as the Tamam Shud case, due to a piece of paper with this phrase written on it found on the body of an unknown man on Somerton Beach in the town of Glenelg, which is just south of Adelaide, Australia.

The body of the Somerton Man was found 6:30 am, December 1, 1948. The man had no identification, nothing on him to point to who this man was. Even the tags of his clothing had been removed, making even trying to get an identification through his suit difficult. He also did not have a hat or wallet which was unusual for the time period.  No identification could even be made through dental records

He was found in a sitting position leaning up against the seawall, with his legs crossed. Almost like he had been sleeping when he passed. An unlit cigarette was found on the right collar of his coat. A search of his person revealed an unused second-class rail ticket from Adelaide to Henley Beach, a bus ticket that may or may not have been used, a comb, a half-empty pack of gum, a pack of matches, and a pack of cigarettes that contained cigarettes from a different brand. A more in-depth search of his clothing found a secret pocket sown in his pants that contained a small piece of paper that looked to be from a book, with the phrase "Tamam Shud" written on it. Tamam Shud was later discovered to be a phrase in Persian that means "finished" or "ending".

The Beast of British Columbia

 

Clifford Robert Olsen Jr. 

 

Clifford Robert Olsen started his life of crime at a young age. In his early days at school, he would get into fights, often getting beaten up. He later decided to take up boxing so he could "get even", and he did, by seeking out the other boys to even the score. Constantly with a chip on his shoulder, Clifford was a petty thief. He would even steal produce from backyards and sell them.

Clifford later dropped out of school after grade 8 and was arrested by the age of 17 for a break and enter. By the time he was 42, he had over 90 convictions and had escaped from police custody 7 times. His crimes included obstructing justice, possession of stolen property, possession of firearms, forgery, false pretenses, fraud, parole violation, impaired driving, theft, break and enter and theft, armed robbery, escape from lawful custody, rape, buggery, gross indecency, and first-degree murder.

When he had married his wife, Joan Hale, Clifford had already killed 3 children. Christine Weller, and Colleen Marian Daignault, both 13 and from Surrey, and Daryn Todd Johnsrude, 16, from Coquitlam. Just days after his wedding he abducted and killed Sandra Wolfsteiner, 16, of Langley. Within a month of killing Sandra, he killed 13-year-old Ada Anita Court of Burnaby.

In July 1981, he killed had killed six children. Simon Partington aged 9, and Terri Lyn Carson aged 15, both from Surrey. Judy Kozma aged 14 and Raymond King aged 15, from New Westminster. Sigrun Arnd aged 18, a German tourist and Marie Louise Chartrand aged 17, from Maple Ridge.

Clifford was arrested Aug. 12, 1981, after trying to abduct two female hitchhikers. He was taken in for questioning and after a few days was arrested for the murder of Judy Kozma, aged 14.

Canada's Missing Child: Michael Dunahee

Michael Dunahee

Michael Dunahee was almost 5 years old when he disappeared from a playground in Victoria, BC March 24, 1991. His mother Crystal was participating in football practice and Michael and his father Bruce were watching with the other spectators.

The Dunahee family arrived at Blanchard Park Elementary School around 12:30 in the afternoon, and soon after arriving young Michael asked his mother if he could play in the school's playground. Crystal said that Michael could play in the playground while she was at practice because he would be easily visible to her and Bruce.

Crystal told him "OK, you can go to the park, wait there and don’t leave with anybody, just wait there and daddy will come and get you.". When they looked at the playground moments later, Michael was gone. Crystal later stated that "something wasn't quite right " and continues to carry the guilt for not trusting her instincts that day.

Blanchard Park Elementary School. The playground is in the lower left.