Students take crack at cold case
Leeds Beckett University criminology students to look into missing person
The launch of a cold case teaching program at a British university might shed new light on the fate of a man who disappeared in Kelowna 31 years ago.
Leeds Beckett University will train criminology students on ways to crack longunsolved cases.
One of the first cases they will look into is that of Charles Horvath, a 20-year-old Englishman who disappeared in Kelowna in May 1989.
Lecturer Kirsty Bennett says the students might uncover something overlooked by police as they try to figure out what happened to Horvath.
“It’s really important to showcase that we should not forget these cases and we owe it to the victims’ families to do something,” Bennett told a top-selling English newspaper, The Daily Mail. “This isn’t a promise that we are going to solve the case, it’s to offer families and police forces the opportunity for other people to have a look at the case in different ways, do a review, and potentially offer a new line of inquiry,” Bennett said.
Denise Horvath, Charles’ mother, said she was excited students in the new cold case program would look into her son’s disappearance.
“I’m absolutely thrilled and privileged that they are taking on my Charles’ case,” she told the newspaper. “I hope it will provide me with answers on the fate of my son.
“To not know has been cruel, it has been the worst part,” said Horvath, who has come to Canada 16 times trying to find out what happened to Charles.
The young Englishman was last seen at Tiny Town, a since demolished campsite on Lakeshore Road. He was travelling across Canada, and was to meet up with family in Hong Kong to celebrate his 21st birthday.
Kelowna RCMP have never made any arrests in the case.
Despite the absence of a body, Charles Horvath was officially declared dead Aug. 14 by a British court.
During a 2018 trip to Kelowna, Denise Horvath said she was no longer interested in justice or vengeance, but simply wanted to know what happened to her son, and why.
“I just seek answers,” she said at a press conference. “I’ll never understand what my son did to deserve such a violent end, but I want you to know I forgive you.”