EDMONTON - Bret McCann had a simple message for his missing parents at an RCMP news conference more than a week after their burning motorhome was discovered west of Edmonton.
"We know you're out there. You may be hurt," McCann, his voice quavering with emotion, said Tuesday. "But we're looking as hard as we can for you."
Police are calling the mysterious disappearance of Lyle McCann, 78 and his wife Marie, 77, "extremely suspicious." Their motorhome was discovered engulfed in flames in a remote wooded area near Edson, Alta., July 5.
RCMP and the family believe a missing light green Hyundai Tucson SUV the couple were towing behind their RV may be the key to finding out what happened to them.
Investigators said they are rechecking an area near where the burned motorhome was found, hoping for clues. An aerial and ground search of the region is underway and police have called in an arson expert to go over the charred remains of the motorhome.
The wreckage was found two days after the St. Albert couple left on a trip to B.C.'s Fraser Valley. The couple was last seen July 3 when a video surveillance camera at a gas station in their hometown recorded them filling up.
It wasn't until July 10 that relatives called police, saying the two seniors had failed to turn up as expected, Sgt. Patrick Webb said.
"Right now what we're doing is (re-examining) the scene where the vehicle was found burned," he said. "We're working with the family trying to determine all the possible stops the people may have made."
After finding the burned RV, police called the couple's home repeatedly and officers knocked on the door of their home, but they couldn't find them, he said.
It wasn't until the missing person's report came in several days later that police connected the RV to the couple's disappearance. What made the case even more suspicious was that the SUV, Alberta plate ZPK 289, was gone.
"A missing person report is simply that; we would take steps to find them. But at the same time, as soon as you put that together with a burned vehicle and another missing vehicle, the seriousness of this investigation raises quite a bit," Webb said.
Bret McCann, 55, said his father and mother loved to take off in their motorhome and go hunting and fishing. They were supposed to meet up with Bret's sister and their granddaughter in Abbotsford, B.C., for a camping trip near Chilliwack.
The family believes the couple had planned to make their first stop in Blue River, north of Kamloops, B.C., after they left home July 3.
"It strikes us as a little odd that my dad, being a long-haul truck driver, that they would have stopped so soon out of Edmonton," said McCann.
Fire officials say when they arrived at the burning motorhome, the flames were intense and only the RV's frame remained.
There's no record that the couple stayed at a campground near where their burning RV was found and campers don't recall seeing the two seniors, said Webb.
Investigators have been checking the couple's cellphone records and financial transactions. They said there was no unusual activity, but Webb noted there were no credit card transactions after July 5.
Police were asked why their suspicions about the couple's welfare weren't raised when the burning motorhome was discovered and they couldn't be reached by RCMP.
"We get lots of stolen vehicles that are burned in isolated locations, that happens on a fairly regular basis," said Webb.
"Every detachment, I would venture to say every RCMP member at one time or another, has investigated a stolen vehicle or an abandoned vehicle that is burned for some reason or other."
Police are examining whether proper procedures were followed by officers as they tried to followup on the burned RV.
On July 11, a day after RCMP investigators had linked the burned vehicle to the missing couple, a police press release was issued asking the public to be on the lookout for the couple's RV.
"What we did is wanted to get the word out in a minimized situation. In other words we didn't want to put out that the vehicle was found, burned," Webb said.
"When it became apparent that wasn't getting us enough results, we bring out the next step and put out the release that the vehicle was burned."
Neighbours of the missing couple say they're stunned by their disappearance.
"I'm still in shock, I just couldn't believe it," said Gottfried Rohmkopf, 78, who has lived next door to the McCanns for 45 years.
Before the couple left, Lyle McCann said they expected to be gone for about three weeks, Rohmkopf said.
On Sunday, Bret McCann started a Facebook group dedicated to finding his missing parents and by noon Tuesday the group had more than 800 members.
"I don't know you, but my parents are 70 and 71 and this story just breaks my heart," wrote Heather Kazimir. "I live in southern Alberta and will write down the license plate and keep looking for the vehicle. My thoughts and prayers are with you."
