Freaky Friday Files: Unsolved Mysteries from Vancouver Island
DISCLAIMER: Topics in this blog post may be distressing to some readers. Reader discretion advised.
Hi friends! Happy Fri-YAY! I hope you're having a wonderful day so far. To keep in theme with my travel series (as yes, we went to Canada recently (Victoria/Vancouver, BC), I thought for this edition we could take a look at some unsolved mysteries from Vancouver Island. We didn't get to see a lot of Vancouver Island, and I hope one day we can go back, but Victoria, BC, was absolutely beautiful! And yes, I know I am behind on content!
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Unsolved Mysteries from Vancouver Island
Cadborosaurus - I talked about this one in my blog post "The Ultimate Travel Guide to Victoria, BC" because we actually went to Cadboro Bay! Cadborosaurus, "Caddy", is a sea serpent legend that began in the 1930s, when people started to report seeing a sea monster in the bay. The monster was described as a 10-metre-long serpent, but with the head of a horse. The nickname "Caddy" came from The Times Newspaper. It reminds me of the Loch Ness Monster (but we do know that's a hoax). So have you ever seen Caddy while visiting Cadboro Bay? Let me know; we sure didn't see any monster other than the one at the playground.
The disappearance of Granger Taylor - Almost 50 years ago (29th Nov 1980), a 32-year-old man from Duncan, BC, left a note to his parents saying he was boarding a spacecraft. He was never seen again. Granger was a very well-oiled mechanic (pun intended) and also interested in Ufology/aliens. Some articles online claim that Granger believed he could communicate with alien life. The note read, "Dear Mother and Father, I have gone away to walk aboard an alien spaceship, as recurring dreams assured a 42-month interstellar voyage to explore the vast universe, then return. I am leaving behind all my possessions to you as I will no longer require the use of any. Please use the instructions in my will as a guide to help. Love, Granger". From that night, no one found any sign of Granger. However, in March 1986, forest workers found a blown-out vehicle near Mount Prevost, which was close to the Taylor family home. Granger was familiar with dynamite, and some had gone missing from his home the night he vanished. Authorities were called, and the vehicle matched Granger's pickup truck. They also found bone fragments and a piece of Granger's shirt. As no other remains were found, many theories have come to light about Granger's disappearance. Maybe delusions caused him to blow himself up, maybe it was an elaborate hoax to go and start a new life, or maybe he just chose to end his life and wanted to ease the burden on his family with the alien note? I would probably say Occam's Razor here, as ending his life is the most logical explanation, but my question is: why weren't any more remains found?
The disappearance of Lindsey Nichols - On the 2nd of August, 1993, a 14-year-old girl called Lindsey disappeared from Comox, Vancouver Island. She was last seen on Royston Road and may have been hitchhiking to see some friends (Lindsey had allegedly done this before, but to me that seems like a normal teenage thing, to go and see friends without telling your mum). Anyway, Lindsey's mum went to great lengths to search for her, even lobbying the federal government to get a missing persons DNA database (and I believe that exists now). The amendment to this is called "Lindsey's Law".
The Whiskey Creek Murders - On the 31st of October, 2020, there was a Halloween night massacre near Whiskey Creek (an off-grid area near Qualicum Beach). On the 1st of November, 2020, a biker found 3 people deceased and 1 person badly injured. The victims were Shawn McGrath (58), his partner Shanda (38), and a guy named Tyler (I think his surname is not available to the public for some sort of retribution). A fourth victim was also sh*t and badly injured but did not die (unfortunately, all their dogs became victims too). No one has ever been caught for these m*rders. However, authorities believe that Shawn was the main target due to previous criminal charges. I also don't particularly like how the media reported on this case; some of it comes across as "victim-blaming" to me, but that's just my opinion; don't come for me haha.
Victoria Teen Murders (The murders of Cheri Lynn Smith, Kimberly Gallop, and Melissa Nicholson) - These 3 women were all m*rdered around a similar time, and the cases weren't originally linked together, but there is speculation that these women were all m*rdered by the same person. I don't want to speculate too much, but it is possible that there was a serial k*ller at the time. It's not clear to me if these women chose to work as s*x workers or if they were trafficked (I think they were trafficked). Cheri was 18 and 6 months pregnant when her body was found in Saanich in September 1990. Kimberley was 17 and found str*ngled to d*ath at the Colony Motor Inn, Victoria, on the 21st of November, 1990. Melissa's body was found on the side of the road near Shawnigan Lake in June 1991. I believe that a retired officer from Saanich (Chris Horsley) has come out and said he believes that, looking back at these cases, they should have been linked together at the time, and he thinks it was a serial offender targeting street workers (as those types of people like to target vulnerable people, and no, I don't think there's anything wrong with s*x workers. All 3 homicides remain open, and authorities who have worked/are working on the cases have refused comment.
Bree Gamble Murder - Bree's body was found near Beacon Hill Park on Dallas Road in 2021, and her m*rder remains unsolved to this day. Allegedly, Bree may have been involved in some sort of DV relationship and friends who have discussed her case think that she may have been k*lled via lethal injection (all this is alleged). Bree also had a 17-year-old daughter with an ex-partner. Her ex-partner and father to her child believed that Bree was being misconstrued in the media, as some people were saying maybe she just overdosed. I can't find much information about this one. Let me know if there's somewhere I can find more info.
The disappearance of Lisa Marie Young - On the 30th of June, 2002, a 21-year-old Lisa Marie Young (an Indigenous Canadian woman) went missing from Nanaimo. Lisa had attended a local nightclub as well as two house parties that night before accepting a ride from a man called Christopher William Adair, a guy she and her friends had met at the club. I believe they went to a fast food restaurant. Lisa Marie Young has never been seen since. It is believed that Lisa's case is a homicide case. Reading about this case, I feel like you could do a massive deep dive on everything that went wrong, like the fact that authorities didn't even start searching for her until 2 months AFTER she went missing. And apparently the Adair guy was a person of interest, but police didn't find anything connecting him to her disappearance. Like what??? Where did she go? Apparently, it was also considered odd that Lisa went out to a nightclub when she had a very busy week. This one just baffles me. I feel so bad.
The disappearance of Michael Dunahee - This one is just so sad. On the 24th of March, 1991, 4-year-old Michael Dunahee went missing from the playground at Blanshard Elementary School, Victoria. Michael was last seen around 12:30 PM playing. His mum was participating in a women's flag football practice there, and his dad was a spectator. No witnesses to his disappearance have ever been identified. I think Michael asked to go to the playground and wait for his dad, but when his dad arrived at the playground, he just wasn't there. To me, I feel like maybe someone was waiting for a kid to come to the playground by themselves and just take them before anyone noticed; they probably got trafficked somewhere. Poor thing. It's also possible that it was someone that he knew. I don't know, but I don't see any theories on his Wiki page, and I do hope that his family gets justice and closure one day. "This Reddit post" does a better deep dive than me and mentions a witness, but it's not clear to me why that's not on the Wikipedia page.
The disappearance of Ian Indridson - This is a more recent one. On the 10th of January, 2022, 54-year-old Ian Indridson went missing from his home in Fairfield, Victoria. He left his phone, wallet, and keys behind. Ian had recently started a new job, which brought on a bout of anxiety and, in turn, insomnia, so he started sleeping only 1-2 hours a night. It is possible that Ian ended his own life; however, his wife thinks that would be very out of character for him. Apparently, Ian was also obsessed with people who went missing and started a new life (hence why they don't think it was s*icide). His disappearance still remains unsolved.
The Salish Sea Human Feet - Yes, I know this one is SOLVED, but I thought it was kinda fun to put in here, and I know it's not technically on the island. Anyway, since August 2007, there have been at least 20 detached human feet washed ashore along the coasts of the Salish Sea between BC and Washington. Foul play has been ruled out in most of these cases, and the feet are likely from people who accidentally drowned or people who ended their lives. The feet were usually found with a sneaker still attached, which makes sense, as when bodies decompose underwater, they kinda fall apart and sea creatures nibble at the remains, but if there's a shoe still on, it can keep it together, and then it can wash up somewhere. So we do know that this one is Occam's Razor, but I remember the media really harping on about something REALLY bad happening and fear-mongering people.
Obviously, that's not every single mystery from Vancouver Island, and a lot more people have gone missing, but we must also remember that Vancouver Island has some intense terrain, a lot of caves, etc, so people may go missing due to succumbing to the wilderness if they're not prepared. Not saying that's the case for everyone, just that it's a possibility.
Thank you for reading,
Stay safe,
Ash
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