December 4, 2005

The First Search

Helen and I jumped in the car and thought we could head him off over in Souris West. We drove out past Rollo Bay West, but we did not see him.

We came back and told Art, and we believed he had hidden someplace until the heat came off him. From that point on, my gut feeling was that he wasn’t in shape to drive any further than 20 minutes because of the shape he was in.

Over the years, we had put pressure on him and he left, but he always came back or contacted us in some way.

We know now that this time was different.

We started checking around and driving different areas. He had an odd-coloured car, a purple Pontiac, and it should have stuck out like a sore thumb. To our regret, we now know that wasn’t to be.

The weather was good. It was cold, about -10°C, but there was no snow.

Reporting Reggie Missing

By Tuesday afternoon, December 6, there was still no word, so we reported him missing to the RCMP in Souris.

A young constable, Marc Potvin, was assigned to the case. He was wonderful, and as time progressed he became very interested in finding Reggie. A great deal of his work on the case was on his own time. He was a credit to the force and a tremendous help to us.

There was an All-Points Bulletin on Reggie from coast to coast. Marc did a tremendous amount of inquiring.

Reggie’s Last Phone Calls

Reggie had a cell phone with him, and he made five calls about 20 minutes after he left home.

One call was home to his mother, one was to his friend [xxxx], one to [xxxx]’s boss, one to a number in Nova Scotia—we think he pushed the wrong number—and the last one was home.

His son Steven answered it.

Reggie said, “Where’s Mum? I’m looking for Mum.”

She wasn’t home, and Steven didn’t know that Reggie was gone.

We discovered afterward that he had removed the battery from the phone. That way, the phone couldn’t be traced.

Searching Without Knowing Where to Look

Art and I nearly wore out our trucks on all the poor wood roads. People were contacting us to volunteer to search for Reggie, but we didn’t know where to search.

By the time we thought about checking the Confederation Bridge, their camera tapes had been erased.

There was still no snow, and Art mentioned that we should get a plane and search. They told us that to fly below 1,000 feet we would need permission from the RCMP.

We contacted the Souris RCMP, and it seemed that we would have problems getting permission.

What I Later Learned From the RCMP

Editor’s note: Years later, I interviewed Marc Potvin about the investigation. His recollection clarified some of the details in my father’s account.

Marc explained that when my father reported Reggie missing, Senior Constable David McInnis, then acting corporal at the local RCMP detachment, took charge of the investigation. McInnis had approximately 25 years of experience. Marc Potvin was assigned to work on the investigation.

Marc also told me something I had largely forgotten over the years: Reggie had apparently left a note before he disappeared.

I believe this is correct and have a vague recollection of my parents telling me about the note, but I no longer remember what it said. Unless I am able to locate the note or another contemporary record describing it, I don’t want to speculate about its contents or what Reggie intended by leaving it.