Penticton’s darkest day
EDITOR’S NOTE: In recognition of Canada’s 150th anniversary, The Herald is reprinting historic stories from the South Okanagan focusing on the biggest news story of each year.
October 22, 1979 – The body of 12-year-old Susan Duff, missing for nearly a month, was discovered Sunday afternoon off a gravel road on the outskirts of Penticton.
The fully-clothed body was found by a Penticton family out picking mushrooms. Susan’s body will be sent to a crime investigation laboratory in Vancouver to determine the cause of death. RCMP say she was a victim of foul play but did not speculate as to how she died.
Sgt. John Johnson said the badly decomposed body had been in the secluded area since the time she disappeared, but he would not say where it was found. He said the RCMP are withholding the information until the area is searched. Johnson said the purple three speed bicycle Susan was riding at the time of her disappearance has not been found.
He said the area in which Susan was found had been checked by helicopter during the initial search. He said the RCMP had no cause to search the area extensively during the last few days of the investigation because they were concentrating on the area surrounding Susan’s home.
Susan went missing on Sept. 26 near dusk from her home in Penticton. She was last seen riding her bicycle along Skaha Lake Road and Yorkton Avenue. An extensive search was conducted along the Channel Parkway, Okanagan
River channel, residential areas, and the area she was last seen.
RCMP have made no arrest and say they are investigating several different angles. Johnson said they may have a suspect, but no further information is being released at this time. Five RCMP members have been assigned to the full-time case for almost a month. More than 200 people have been questioned during the investigation and the RCMP said they have received more than 300 phone calls about the disappearance. RCMP say this has been the most extensive investigation ever carried out in Penticton. ••• Susan Duff’s murder remains unsolved. Ernest John Gardiner was charged with her murder and six other sexual assaults in 2005, but charges were stayed due to “insufficient evidence” and the long period of time that had passed. He died in 2007. Susan’s life again drew national attention with the release of “Frock Off,” by Jo Dibblee in 2013.