Murder mystery unsolved a year after body found
Last April, the body of Erick Danis turned up in a rural area northeast of Calgary. The man’s body was left wrapped in a blanket and it was unclear how long it had been in the field.
When police told Danis’s family of the discovery, it was the first time they’d heard anything about him in months.
The family is having a hard time dealing with his mysterious murder.
“It’s been hell,” said Colette Potvin, Danis’s mother.
Police are still searching for leads as the case nears its one-year anniversary this weekend.
Someone riding an all-terrain vehicle found Danis near the intersection of Highway 566 and Range Road 274 on April 22, 2011.
Police later identified the body as Erick Joesph Danis from Airdrie. Danis had a young daughter.
He was known to police and had been missing from his family for months before.
Friends previously told the Herald the man was into drugs and “got involved with the wrong people.”
The RCMP believe it’s possible Danis’s involvement in criminal activity may have played a role in his death. Investigators have had to backtrack and “fill in all those pieces,” said RCMP spokeswoman Sgt. Patricia Neely. Neely declined to comment further but said the cause of death isn’t being released while the investigation continues.
Airdrie RCMP and major crimes units in Calgary and Red Deer are probing the case.
“There are a lot of resources that have been put into this investigation,” Neely said. “We would like to get a few more pieces of the puzzle.”
Meanwhile, Potvin has turned to social media to express her grief and is praying for answers.
She declined further comment until speaking to police.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Airdrie RCMP.