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“Mr. and Mrs. Parsons, I’m Constable Harris and the one assigned to the case.” the RCMP officer standing at the doorway explained, “Constable Jackson handed over to me all the information gathered yesterday and I’d like to discuss it further with yourselves and the child in question, Mary-Anne Willis.”
“Please come in,” Robert stated, turning to the side to allow the officer to enter, “I’m Robert and this is my wife, Lisa.”
The officer walked in and followed the couple to the living room. Taking a seat, he scanned over the room, then settled back onto Robert.
“Lovely home. Is Mary-Anne here? Or did she return to school?” he asked as he pulled out a notebook and pen.
“She’s outside with our son, Bobby,” Lisa replied, “I can go and get her if you like.”
“No, that’s fine. I need to ask you both questions before we talk with her.”
The officer observed the couple tense as they reached out for each other’s hands. The case had been referred to Constable Harris because of his years in the force working on long-term missing people cases. Prior to the assignment here in Coquitlam, BC, he had been working on the force in Toronto and worked as a detective in the missing person’s department. Drawing upon that experience, he made himself comfortable and quickly put the couple at ease.
“I have all the back files on your daughter Tracey,” he explained, “I understand she’s been missing since 1979 and you’ve actively been searching for her, even when the department stopped. I understand that you hired a private detective that traced her as far as just outside Winnipeg, Manitoba then lost her trail. Do you happen to have any of the information that the PI gathered? It would be really helpful.”
Lisa nodded numbly as Robert got up and walked to the bedroom. He returned with a thin file and handed it over to the officer.
“It isn’t much. Basically we kept only the information that the RCMP didn’t have. It’s as if she simply disappeared into thin air.”
Robert sat down beside his wife, placing his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. Lisa remained silent and numb as she observed the interaction around her. Constable Harris looked through the file and made note of the last place Tracey was seen.
“According to the file, Tracey contacted her friend, Melissa Peterson from Regina. After that, Melissa never heard from Tracey again. Would there be any reason Tracey wouldn’t have called her after Regina? Tracey did contact you daily, correct?”
“Yes, she phoned us,” Robert stated, “We accepted collect calls and Melissa couldn’t. Melissa worked on reserve and had to use the band office phone. We called Melissa daily and gave each of them updates.
So it wasn’t unusual that Tracey hadn’t called her friend.”
“Alright, that makes sense. You and your wife were the contact and liaison between the girls. Tracey reported every night to you. Was it the same time every night?”
“Yes, always between 8 or 9 at night. We could put our clocks on it. It was the time she pulled into a motel to sleep for the night. She always called when she got into the room and before going for supper.”
"Ok, so she was very consistent with the calls. Now, she was heading to Moose Factory to help her friend Melissa escape an abusive relationship. Is that your understanding?"
"We didn't find that out until after Tracey disappeared. Tracey only told us that Melissa was planning to get married. And that she found her fiancee with another woman. That she was really upset and really needed to see Tracey in person, not just talk on the phone. Tracey didn't really like her job, so she just packed up, told us her best friend needed her and she'd get a job on reserve doing something. Then she left."
Lisa nodded in agreement, "Afterwards the police asked Melissa more questions about this. Finally Melissa admitted she had told Tracey all about her boyfriend beating her up and breaking her nose. She made Tracey promise to tell no one. Apparently Tracey was going there to help Melissa escape. Melissa said they were planning to move to Toronto."
Robert added, "That came as a real shock to us. We feared Melissa's boyfriend had done something but he was actually in jail for drinking in a public place, causing mischief and assaulting an officer during the time Tracey disappeared.
Officer Harris wrote down notes, then continued on, "Ok, according to the file the last time you spoke with your daughter was on the 4th night from Winnipeg. Is that correct?"
“Yes. She was stuck in Winnipeg. Her car had broken down. It was a second hand and I didn’t think it could make it to Moose Factory but Tracey insisted it could. If only I had forbidden her to go!”
Robert’s voice rose as he slapped the side of the couch. Lisa stroked his face gently and spoke soothing about how Tracey would have went anyhow. About how there was no money in those days to fly her to such a remote area and she was so independent. She wouldn’t have listened. She would have gone with or without their blessing. How it wasn’t Robert’s fault. Constable Harris sat quietly, knowing it was important for them to find strength together or the case would fall apart. After a short period, he moved to the next question.
“You had actually expected her to be in Kenora, correct?”
“Yes in Kenora . She had been doing great time driving. But she called early from Winnipeg. It was 5:25PM. I remember because I just walked in the door from work and the phone rang. I looked at the time as the operator asked me to accept the collect call and was really worried. Guess I had a right to be worried.”
Lisa placed her hand down on Robert’s leg and squeezed gently. Robert squeezed her shoulders and continued on.
“She told me it was nothing major and she had enough in her funds to make it. I told her I could wire her money but she was so independent! Anyhow, she said the mechanic was nice and would give her a discount if she watched the gas pumps while he worked on her car.”
Constable Harris looked through his file, then compared it to the notes made in the PI’s file. He made a few notes of his own and continued the questioning.
“That was the little gas shop just on the outskirts of Winnipeg, Bill’s Auto Repair. He checked out. By both your detective and ours. Older man who ran his own shop for years. Had one steady employee who had to leave that day to tend to his sick wife. According to the file, Tracey came in while it became busy and as you stated, agreed to help out in exchange for repairs.”
Officer Harris scanned the file and continued, “And it was a minor repair. Leaking radiator. Pretty basic. She left with her car at closing time and told Bill she’d get a room for the night at the local motel. She made it to the motel. But from there, the trail starts to grow cold. Did she contact you from the motel?”
“Yes, she called at 9:15. Told us it was a leak in her rad and it was fixed. She was going to jump in the bath and go to bed. Said she’d leave early and head into Ontario. Really, she was on the final home stretch.”
“And you had no reason to be alarmed. She didn’t say anything that might suggest something wasn’t right?”
“No, in fact, she spoke highly of the mechanic Bill. Said he ordered out pizza and they ate that before closing up. That was our daughter. She always made friends easily and she trusted everyone.”
Lisa added in a quiet whisper, “and that’s probably what got her into trouble.”
Officer Harris nodded. Unfortunately her statement hit the mark. Too many times, the missing person had trusted someone who they should not have. He heard far too many stories of youth that had trusted and later were found dead. He always felt it was such a sad commentary on life that trust in your fellow man was a bad thing.
“As I mentioned, there were witnesses at closing who verified Tracey left alone and witnesses to verify that she had booked at the motel, alone.”
He shuffled through the file and looked up, “and according to the motel records, she handed in her keys at 8 AM the next day. Therefore we can conclude she had planned to head up to northern Ontario and meet with her friend.”
Officer Harris shook his head as he read further, “According to the PI there was a sighting of Tracey at a pull-out between Winnipeg and Kenora. There really isn’t anything but rocks and trees on that stretch of the highway. According to the witness, she was talking with a young child."
Officer Harris took another look at the PI file then back at the police file. He scrunched up his face then continued, "And this is interesting. According to the private investigator's file, your daughter was reported being with a young child at this rest area, yet, according to the police report the witness was unsure if the car had BC plates or not. And she couldn't positively identify the young woman she had seen. This might be something to further check upon."
Officer Harris made some notes then looked up at the couple, "Were you aware of that?"
Robert stated quietly, holding tightly onto Lisa's hand, "Yes. The RCMP followed up that lead after the private detective informed them. Nothing came out of it. The woman was elderly and her husband didn't even recall stopping at the rest area. They couldn't confirm anything, so it was dropped."
Officer Harris nodded in agreement, "Yes, unfortunately that happens far too many times."
He made more notes and continued on, "Still, it's something to make note of. After that sighting, nothing. That’s where the trail ends. No one fitting the description of your daughter, or the child was ever reported again in the area. And according to my contacts in Winnipeg and further north in Kenora, there were no Jane Does during that year who fit your daughter’s description.”
"What I find interesting is the statement that your daughter was seen talking to a young child, yet no other vechiles were reported in the area. And according to the PI's file, the woman who reported this stated it seemed your daughter knew this child and actually assumed the child was your daughter's child."
He continued to flip through the report, "Yet, as you stated, the woman recanted her statement to the police and was unable to recall any details."
He looked up, "As I said, it's one to take note of."
Officer Harris then leaned forward in his chair and looked directly at the couple sitting opposite him on the couch, “Now we come to the present. Yesterday, Mary-Anne Willis, your foster child, revealed that she recalls witnessing her father murdering your daughter. Yet, there are no records of Paul Willis living in that area. In fact, upon investigation Mr. Willis denies living in Manitoba and denies travelling through the area. We have records of his employment and residence from Alberta and BC but nothing which indicates he moved further east.”
The couple sat up, puzzled. What was the officer trying to say?
Officer Harris flipped open another file, then continued, “Of course, this doesn’t mean he wasn’t in the area. It simply means we have no record of his being there. He still could have been travelling through or working under the table. We know he lies and is a drifter. That may be unprofessional to state, however, it’s also the contributing reason he’s returned several times to jail since he attempted the abduction of his daughter. Which you are well aware of. Since your foster daughter’s disclosure, we have requested assistance of the Manitoba RCMP to investigate further. We require more information from Mary-Anne in order to do this."
Officer Harris took a deep breath, then continued,
"The unfortunate part is this – if her story is true, your daughter may never be found. There are simply too many places to hide. Which means a few things: we cannot verify or deny Mary-Anne’s account of Tracey’s disappearance; you will not be able to bring your daughter home which is very difficult for any family to face, nor will you ever really know what really did happen. And last, we cannot charge Mr. Willis for a crime for which we have no evidence, no matter how strongly Mary-Anne tells the story. It would simply become the word of an adult over the word of a child. I’m really sorry to be the one to tell you all this."
Officer Harris took another deep breath. He hated this part of his job, ripping hope away from families. He continued on in a caring, professional manner, "Still, I want you to hear this clearly. We have reopened the case and promies to do a full investigation. For that, we need Mary-Anne to remember as many details as possible. Do you believe Mary-Anne is ready to talk more about what she remembers?”
Lisa started to cry. It was all too overwhelming. Until yesterday she had believed that one day Tracey would come home. No one could prove anything different so she allowed the denial to move in strong. Now, listening to Officer Harris, Lisa realized not only would Tracey never come home, they might not even find her body to give her a place to be at peace. Lisa’s tears flowed faster as she sobbed, hiding her head in Robert's chest. Robert remained strong, pushing the tears that threatened to flow aside to provide strength to his wife. Officer Harris remained silent knowing there was nothing more he could do than allow them time to absorb all the information.
Unknown to the adults sitting in the living room two children sat hidden in the hallway. As the officer spoke, Mary-Anne’s face turned from pale to dusky grey. Bobby remained silent, trying to give Mary-Anne all the strength she’d need to face the policeman. As his father was doing for his mother. Still, deep inside, Bobby's stomach was churning and he felt ready to throw up.
“Bobby,” Mary-Anne whispered, “He’s got the story all wrong. She wasn’t driving alone. We were with her.”
Bobby looked at her, confused.
“Bobby, she was giving us a ride. How come your parents didn’t know that?”
Bobby looked at her even more confused, “I don’t know Mary-Anne. I’m starting to wonder if we really knew what Tracey was doing.”
© 2001
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