The McCann family is facing Christmas without Lyle and Marie as the mystery into the couple’s disappearance continues without answers.
Family members attended the annual Christmas lunch at the St. Albert Senior Citizens’ Club Thursday and continued to plead for some information about their missing parents and grandparents.
Lyle and Marie were last seen on July 3, leaving St. Albert in their motorhome, bound for Chilliwack, B.C.
The couple was reported missing July 10 when they failed to arrive to meet their daughter in Abbottsford. Their motorhome had been found several days prior, burned to the ground.
In the weeks after their disappearance, RCMP identified a person of interest, located the couple’s motorhome and searched several properties. The couple is still missing.
Travis Vader, the person of interest, has since been declared a suspect in the case.
The couple’s son Bret spoke to the crowd at the luncheon and said the family has come to terms with the tragedy, but they need it to end.
“We know that something awful and terrible must have happened to my parents in that first weekend in July,” he said. “We have all been holding up well throughout this whole ordeal, but we need closure. Someone somewhere has the information that can help us find my parents.”
He said the family planned to continue its Christmas traditions, but it will be difficult.
“They will always be on our mind. It is going to be sad, but we are trying to return to normal life and think of my parents in more of a celebratory way.”
He said it was only over the last month or two that he has started to accept his parents are unlikely to return home.
“Saying I am used to it is not really true, but I have learned to accept it and this is our life now. We are in this nightmare.”
Nicole Walshe, Lyle and Marie’s granddaughter, said nothing seems normal without her grandparents.
“It doesn’t feel like Christmas. I am not sure what it will feel like on the actual day.”
She also pleaded with Vader to come forward with any information he might have about the disappearance.
“If he knows something he has the power to drastically change our family and bring peace to our family,” she said. “If there is anything he can do, he can make this a Christmas miracle for us and bring closure to our family.”
Bret also thanked the community for all of their interest and support.
“We have always loved this community and it has always been like home for us. The support you are showing here for my parents is very, very meaningful for us.”
RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Tim Taniguchi also addressed the crowd and said the case has a personal meaning for everyone working on it.
“Every time I look at those photographs of Lye and Marie, I can’t help but think that could be my father, my mother, my grandfather or my grandmother.”
He said the RCMP has interviewed more than 200 people, done 30 property searches, collected 1,400 documents and still has 20 full-time investigators on the case.
He insisted the case remains active and moving forward.
“The investigation remains a priority for the RCMP. It will remain that way until we get to the truth.”
The family has offered a $60,000 reward that was raised through a community fundraising initiative earlier this year. The reward is available to anyone who comes forward and offers information that leads to a conviction.
Anyone with any information on the case is being asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
