‘Unique case’ baffles police

As the search for a missing fiveyear-old boy and his grandparents stretched into its 11th day Thursday, police say they’ll continue pouring resources into the “unfathomable” case.

Nathan O’Brien, Alvin Liknes and Kathryn Liknes have been missing since June 30 after they vanished from the Likneses’ Parkhill home.

Kevin Brookwell, spokesman for the Calgary police, said he had never seen a case like this in his 35 years working for the service.

“I’ve talked to other senior command people, senior investigators, and this is a very, very unique case,” he said. “As the days pass, it does pose its challenges.”

Investigators were seen for the seventh day in a row at an acreage in northeast Airdrie, owned by the parents of the only person of interest in the case, Douglas Garland.

Garland is currently in police custody on two unrelated charges and could be released on bail Friday.

On Thursday, officers at the acreage were accompanied by chemical experts from the bomb squad because of a large quantity of chemicals found at the property. It’s not clear yet if the chemicals are related to normal farm operations, but they are considered dangerous and flammable, said Brookwell.

“We’re taking precautions at that site for our officers who are out there conducting the search and handling or looking at those chemicals,” Brookwell said.

“It’s too early to say what they may be or what they may be used for.”

After starting to search the Spyhill Landfill the previous day, police extended their investigation to the East Calgary dump Thursday morning. Searching landfills is standard procedure in missing persons cases, said Brookwell.

“Shortly after the disappearance was reported, we made contact with the three landfill sites in Calgary and we asked that all refuse from Calgary and the surrounding areas that goes to those three landfill sites be segregated off,” he said.

“In the early days of the investigation, we were following up on tips that were coming in from the public. As part of this ongoing investigation now, we have investigators that are going through those landfill sites to see if there’s anything suspicious that may or may not be related to this file.”

Brookwell said items have been taken from the landfill sites, but it’s not known if they’re relevant to the case.

“There is quite a quantity of refuse to go through,” he said.

Police also continue to examine potential business connections between Douglas Garland and the Liknes family.

“I can’t get into what those are, who was involved and what they looked like,” Brookwell said.

More than 100 people are working on the case and exploring various leads, Brookwell said.

“The Airdrie location is just one of the avenues that we’re following up on,” he said. Though he couldn’t elaborate, Brookwell said there are other things police are looking into.

“We have dedicated a lot of resources and we will continue to dedicate whatever resources we need,” he said. “I know we have the same commitment from the RCMP and we will continue on for as long as we need.”

Police are still hopeful they’ll find Nathan and his grandparents alive, and are in contact with the missing trio’s family every day.

“They’re devastated,” Brookwell said. “This is unfathomable what they’re going through.”

A public candlelight vigil was held Thursday evening to show support for the O’Brien and Liknes families (See accompanying stories).

“You see a lot of community support, you see a lot of family support, everybody is watching this closely and everybody wants to help,” Brookwell said.

I’ve talked to senior investigators, and this is a very, very unique case

KEVIN BROOKWELL