INVESTIGATORS GET DUG IN
Setting up camp in Salmon Arm
A farm near Salmon Arm, where police have expanded their weeklong search for more human remains, is the subject of intense scrutiny by worried British Columbians, especially the families of five women missing from the area.
But the man who appears to be at the centre of this search — Curtis Wayne Sagmoen, 37, the son of farm owners Wayne and Evelyn Sagmoen — remains mostly a mystery.
“I didn’t even know he (Curtis) existed till the last week or two,” said one neighbour who has lived near the Sagmoens for a long time.
So, what do we know about the subject of this high-profile RCMP probe?
Sagmoen was employed as a piledriver and bridgeman, work that involves construction or repair of bridges, docks and wharfs, according to the union that represents these workers. The union would not speak to Postmedia for this story.
He has not been working, though, since his arrest last week after an escort was allegedly threatened Aug. 28 with a shotgun near the Sagmoen farm at 2290 Salmon River Rd. On that morning, neighbours Steve Langenegger and Ted Edes found a grey Mazda with its engine still running crashed on a small bridge near the Sagmoen farm and two pink slippers lying on the road nearby. Bare footprints were in the sandy soil leading away from the car, which seemed hastily abandoned.
“They (the footprints) were far apart so she must have been running for her life,” Langenegger told Postmedia.
He phoned the police.
A month and a half later, Sagmoen was arrested in connection with that incident and charged with disguising his face with intent to commit an offence, intentionally discharging a firearm, pointing a firearm, uttering threats, careless use or storage of a firearm and possessing a weapon for a dangerous purpose.
He was also charged with possessing methamphetamine, on Sept. 5.
Sagmoen is facing no charges in relation to the human remains that police found on the family farm Friday; RCMP brought in more heavy equipment Wednesday to escalate the search, as well as items suggesting officers will be on the property for some time — mobile toilets, coffee makers and microwaves.
Some on Facebook posted that they went to school with Sagmoen in Maple Ridge at Harry Hooge elementary and Thomas Haney Secondary. A few said he was a good friend at the time. Others spoke of off-roading with him.
Property records show Sagmoen lived in Maple Ridge in the 10800 block of 248 Street with one of his brothers in 2004. Later, he moved to a townhouse on Gilker Hill Road, where he appeared to live until 2013, when CIBC filed a mortgage foreclosure petition.
In 2013, there were two assaults against women on a trail near this townhouse.
Southeast District spokesman Cpl. Dan Molaskuk said he was not aware of any recent communication between investigators at the Sagmoen farm and investigators in Maple Ridge.
On his own Facebook site, Sagmoen has “liked” more than two dozen sites featuring scantily clad women, as well as a few about vehicles. The Facebook groups he follows range from heavy equipment operator jobs to horses for sale to “bikini girls.”
In recent years, neighbours said Sagmoen lived intermittently with his parents on the Salmon River Road farm. In May, the local newspaper ran a photograph of him helping with sandbags during efforts to stop local properties from flooding.
RCMP continued to say Wednesday that no link has yet been made between the search of the farm and the five women who have disappeared from communities near the farm over the last 20 months.
Caitlin Potts, 27, was last seen Feb. 22, 2016. There are unsubstantiated reports she was dropped off outside Enderby that day, about 28 kilometres from the Sagmoen farm.
Ashley Simpson, 32, and Deanna Wertz, 46, were neighbours on the next county road over from the Sagmoen farm. They vanished in April and July of 2016, respectively.
Traci Genereaux, 18, disappeared from Vernon in May, and Nicole Bell of Malakwa, 31, has not been heard from since Sept. 2.
Earlier this month, police issued a warning to sex-trade workers after releasing details about the August attack. One of the missing women, Potts, has been identified as a sex worker by her family. Relatives of two others, Wertz and Bell, say they were not sex workers.
Edes, the Sagmoen’s neighbour, said sex-trade workers had mistakenly visited his property.
“Those ladies were always coming out to my address, that’s what I was curious about,” said Edes, 80, who’s lived in this area all his life.
“When we found the car, I thought ‘now we have something we can go to the police about, now there’s something concrete.’”
Those in the area, he said, considered the Sagmoens a pleasant family who were often seen tending or riding their horses.
“I used to let them ride their horses through my land … this (Curtis Sagmoen) was the middle boy, he liked horses,” said Edes.
Sagmoen has been remanded in custody and his next appearance in Vernon court is today.
On Wednesday afternoon, Cpl. Dan Moskaluk told reporters that the discovery of the human remains is still being treated as suspicious.
He said police can’t provide information about how many bodies were found until those remains are identified.
“We can appreciate the families that are affected by ongoing missing persons investigations and are aware of them being impacted by what’s going on here today,” he said.
Moskaluk said those families are being updated as the investigation expands.
He provided no details related to the events or evidence that spurred the massive police presence on the farm, saying a sealed warrant prevented him from doing so.
But the size of the farm — more than 24 acres — as well as the number of buildings and objects on site, warranted the need for additional equipment to be brought in, along with forensic detectives, he said.
Police do not know how long the investigation will take.