Unsolved Cases in town/city of Calgary

DISCOVERED IN ALBERTA IN 1979.

File Number: 104200060

Calgary, Alberta, Canada: Banff Jane Doe was estimated to be between the ages of 24 and 25 when she died approximately a year prior to being found by hikers on April 8th, 1979. She was found in Banff National Park about 300 meters off of the Trans-Canada highway. It's possible that Jane is another victim of the Highway of Tears.

Jane is thought to have been between 5'2 and 5'3 tall. She had prominent, high cheek bones and perfect teeth in her upper jaw (her lower jaw was never recovered). Her hair was thick, long, and either brown or black in color. She also is thought to be Indigenous.

There is little information available in her case and Jane remains unidentified.

If you have any information regarding the death or identity of the Banff Jane Doe, you are encouraged to contact the Medical Examiner in charge of her case at 780-427-4987.

LAST SEEN AFTER GETTING INTO ARGUMENT

File Number: 104200071

February 25th 1977 was the last time Barbara Jean Maclean was seen after getting into an argument with her boyfriend at the Highlander bar after a night out. Witnesses say the two exchanged heated words and after some time Barbara returned to the bar and continued drinking until closing time. Meanwhile, her boyfriend waited for her in his dark green 1970, Volvo parked just outside.

When the bar closed at 2:30 a.m., Barbara returned to the vehicle where she and her boyfriend continued fighting. The altercation escalated and the couple split. Her boyfriend stormed off in his car, leaving Barbara behind in the parking lot. Witnesses stated that her boyfriend drove off at 2:30 AM leaving Barbara alone where she reportedly was planning to hitch hike to a different party but she never got here.

The following morning, a man walking his dog discovered Barbara's fully-clothed, strangled body beside a gravel road near 80th Avenue and 6th Street N.E. in Calgary.

Although she was fully clothed circumstances led detectives to believe that she was sexually assaulted. A thorough examination of the crime scene also led investigators to surmise that she'd been killed at another location then moved to the gravel road some time later. Whoever gave Barbara a ride that night is in all probability, the same person who murdered her.

After further speculation the police believed that her murder was connected to Melissa Rehorek's who had been murdered the previous year on September 16th. She had last been seen leaving the YMCA where she was planning to hitchhike to the city for the weekend.

Police traced her movements the night before to the Highlander Hotel tavern, where she and her boyfriend had argued after closing time.

The daughter of a retired physician, MacLean was originally from Nova Scotia and had moved to Calgary, where she worked at the Royal Bank, the Calgary Herald newspaper reported after the murder.

The only suspect was Gary McAstocker who was a known sex offender. He committed suicide after he found out that the police wanted to talk to him about the murder of another girl named Tina McPhee.

McAstocker had just been released from prison after serving his full 11-year sentence for a 1982 rape and a subsequent 1988 sexual assault committed while on parole.

RCMP investigators also suspected her killer might be the same man who killed Melissa Ann Rehorek, 20, who was found Sept. 16, 1976, in a ditch along a gravel road about 20 kilometres west of Calgary near the Trans-Canada Highway. She had been strangled.

McAstocker was also reportedly the prime suspect in the 1976 murder of an Edmonton teenager, Marie Judy Goudreau, 17, who disappeared Aug. 2, 1976 on the way home to her family's farm on the edge of Edmonton. Her body was found two days later near Devon, southwest of Edmonton.

McAstocker hanged himself in 1994 in his Edmonton home hours before he was to be questioned by police.

BODY FOUND WRAPPED IN A BLANKET

File Number: 104200094

Calgary, Alberta: Nine years after an Airdrie father's death, his family continues to search for the person or people responsible.

Someone on an ATV discovered 37-year-old Erick Joseph Danis' body wrapped in a blanket in a field northeast of Calgary on April 22, 2011.

"He was just fun to be around," said Erick's sister, Manon Danis to Global News. "He had a great sense of humour, he was the joker of the family.

Manon said her brother became addicted to opioids and there would be long periods when she wouldn't hear from him.

"The doctors gave him medication and he got addicted fast, really fast," she said. "He went from doctor to doctor until he got flagged." Manon said she last spoke with her brother in November 2010.

"He called me and he was not making any sense at all. And I said to him, 'Erick, something's wrong with you.'"

Manon wouldn't learn about her brother's death until several months later when his body was discovered.

Investigators said that since Danis' death, they have interviewed several people of interest but have not yet zeroed in on a suspect.

"The RCMP feel that it's a very small circle of people who know exactly what happened to Erick," said Sgt. Jason Zazulak with the RCMP K-Division's serious crimes branch. The cause of death has not been released to the public in order to protect the integrity of the investigation.

"The very specifics of what the cause of death were would possibly be only known to a small number of people, and that could be significant evidence in the case," Zazulak said.

Erick left behind a daughter who was only two years old when he died.

"We didn't even have a celebration of life for Erick, we didn't have a funeral," Manon said. "This little girl is not going to know her father."

Manon is now working to help other families who are battling addiction and hopes that one day soon, Erick's killer will be brought to justice.

"No one deserves to die like that, his family [members] are now the victims, over and over and over."

Anyone with information that might assist police in investigating the circumstances of Erick Danis' death is asked to call the Airdrie RCMP at 403-945-7200 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

KILLED IN THE PARKADE

File Number: 104200134

Calgary, Alberta - On January 9, 2008, Allan Richard Teather was shot and killed in the parkade of a southwest condo complex in the 100 block of Village Heights SW. The Calgary Police Service Homicide Unit is currently investigating the file and believe the murder may have been financially motivated.

Investigators are seeking information from anyone who may have known TEATHER or who were in contact with him during the days leading up to his murder. Police are particularly interested in information with respect to his close friends from this time period.

Anonymous tips can be sent to Crime Stoppers by calling toll-free 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

BODY FOUND IN A POND

File Number: 104200153

On January 18, 1992, the body of Anita GILAVISH was located in a pond at the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. GILAVISH's death was determined to be a homicide.

New technological advances developed after the case can be used on the surviving evidence to identify suspects. Your tips can help solve this case.

Tips and information, please call Crime Stoppers at 1 -800-222-8477.

Burned To Death

File Number: 104200160

On the evening of March 19, 2006, Brenda Meyers was closing Madison's Cafe which was located at 3802 Brentwood Road NW.

At approximately 11:35 PM, the Calgary Fire Department received a call of a fire alarm at Madison's Cafe. During the incident, Emergency Services located the body of MEYERS and determined her death to be a homicide.

On the snowy evening of Sunday, March 19th, Meyer's was working the late shift at Madison's. She was closing up the restaurant, as she had done countless times before, but it would not be a normal night for Brenda Meyers. It would never be known as a normal night for anyone who knew her, ever again.

Fire fighters received an alarm around 11:35 pm after a smoke detector trigged an an automated call to the station. Responders raced to Madison's Cafe and Bar to find a small fire had broken out in lower level of the building near the office and storage area. Luckily, the installed sprinkler system had managed to quell the flames and had limited their spread, but as responders continued their search they discovered Brenda's charred body on the basement floor.

What had happened to Brenda? Was it possible this was a horrible accident? The fire team immediately notified Calgary Police so arson and homicide detectives were brought to the scene.

Although investigators initially suspected foul play, it wasn't until ten days later on March 26, that the autopsy confirmed it was murder. Someone had brutally attacked Meyers and left her to die in the same place she had spent so much of her life.

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Stabbed to Death

File Number: 104200166

Jacqueline Crazybull, a 43-year-old mother, died in a stabbing rampage in Calgary on July 11, 2007. She was one of five people attacked that night, and a single stab wound ended her life.

The Calgary Police Service has not made any arrests in her death to date. In October 2017, police announced Jacqueline's death is still actively being investigated.

Jacqueline "Jackie" Crazybull was born into a big Blackfoot family on Oct. 8, 1963. She was a middle child, a young girl who grew up mentoring those around her. Her sister describes her as a doer -- the kind of person who initiated family and community gatherings.

Sandra Manyfeathers says Jackie was a lot like their mother.

"My mother really showed us by example how to live a good life," she said.

Jackie's "take action" approach to life left an impact on her younger sister. A member of the Blood Tribe, Jackie was close to her culture and her family.

Manyfeathers recalls a day walking with Jackie through a wooded area looking for branches, which she needed for a particular Blackfoot game. When Manyfeathers tore a branch from a tree, her sister turned and looked at her.

"She didn't say anything, but I could tell she wasn't pleased. And I asked her 'What, why are you looking at me like that?'"

Manyfeathers recalled Jackie responding with, "Because [the tree is] living and you should respect all living things; all living beings are to be respected."

She said it was a profound realization.

"I always remember that, and to this day I have a lot of respect for living things and living beings," Manyfeathers said.

"And for her to be killed the way she was, it's just, she didn't deserve to be killed that way - for someone that had such value and such respect for life."

It was a summer day in July 2007 when Jackie's life was ended unexpectedly. It's perhaps not surprising to hear that when strangers pulled up in a vehicle asking for help, she responded.

It was Stampede time in Calgary. Jackie was living in the northeast part of the city and was working for her home community at the time. Manyfeathers said on that particular day, she had just gotten something to eat with her cousin."She got up and just went, and she was going to help them, and then they quickly stabbed her and then drove off," she said.

Crazybull was approached by 3 unknown black suspects and was attacked by them. She was rushed to hospital where she later died of her injuries. A single stab wound killed Jackie. She was 43.

"She was discarded on the street," said Manyfeathers.

It was described as a random stabbing rampage in the news. Four other people were attacked that day, but Jackie was the only person who died.