CHARGES LAID IN SENIORS’ DEATHS
Travis Vader charged with 2010 killings of Mccanns
Almost two years after his parents disappeared, Bret Mccann finally got the news he and his family have been waiting for.
Travis Edward Vader, long considered a suspect in the killings of Lyle and Marie McCann, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in their deaths.
“We’re very relieved,” Brett Mccann said Monday. “We’ve waited a long time for this.”
Vader, 40, was charged Friday, but RCMP did not announce the charges until Monday. Over the weekend, Vader told his lawyer that he, too, was relieved charges were finally laid.
“Travis says that he’s relieved that now he has an opportunity to face these charges in court,” said defence lawyer Daniel Mol. He declined to comment further about the case.
Vader was first identified as a “person of interest” soon after Lyle Mccann, 78, and his 77-year-old wife Marie disappeared in July 2010. He officially became a “suspect” early that fall.
He was charged after being arrested at the Edmonton Remand Centre, where he was being held on unrelated charges.
Vader’s first court appearance on the murder charges is scheduled for May 15 in Edson.
RCMP declined to comment further on the case.
“Understandably, the public has many questions about what happened to the Mccanns,” said RCMP Staff Sgt. Shawn Lemay. “Those questions will be answered in court.”
Lemay said the charges were laid based on “information that has surfaced in the course of the investigation.”
The Mccanns left St. Albert the morning of July 3, 2010, on a leisurely trip to meet their daughter in Abbotsford, B.C. Their burned-out motorhome was found two days later in an isolated area near the Minnow Lake campground, about 150 kilometres west of Edmonton.
Although RCMP were immediately able to identify the Mccanns as the vehicle’s owners, they didn’t realize a serious crime had been committed until the couple was reported missing by family July 10. At that point, the case became a double homicide investigation.
The SUV the couple had been towing was found in a remote wooded area six days later. The Mccanns were legally declared dead last summer, though their remains have never been found.
According to court documents, Vader is alleged to have killed the Mccanns on or about July 3, the day they were last seen. The deaths are alleged to have occurred near the town of Peers.
Vader, 40, a father of seven children, was once a successful oilfield worker who owned his own businesses.
Speaking to the Journal in an exclusive interview last month, Vader described himself as “a normal person” and a hard worker, and said the situation he was facing was “unbelievable.”
Vader’s father, Ed, told the Journal last month he was concerned about whether his son would be able to get a fair trial in Alberta, given the intense publicity around the case.
Ed Vader could not be reached for comment on Monday.
Bret Mccann said his family is preparing for a new phase in what has been a long and agonizing journey.
They are looking ahead to the preliminary hearing, which could take place this fall, where the family will hear details of the case and the investigation for the first time. Mccann said finding his parents’ remains is extremely important for him and his family.
“At this point we need to put our trust in the legal system . . . but I can’t overemphasize that we still don’t know what happened to my parents or where my parents are,” McCann said.
“We’re very optimistic that this brings us closer to finding them.”
Mccann said he hopes the murder charges may prompt new people to come forward with information that could help in the case.
A $60,000 reward for information is still being offered in the case.
“This isn’t over for us,” he said.
“We still need to know where our parents are.”