EDMONTON — A man questioned as a "person of interest" in the baffling disappearance of an elderly Alberta couple has now been named a suspect in the case, RCMP confirmed Tuesday.
Travis Edward Vader, 38, was picked up by RCMP on unrelated warrants on July 19 at a home in MacKay, Alta. He'd been sought for three days after police announced they wanted him for questioning in the case of Lyle and Marie McCann.
Chad Vader, the suspect's stepson, said Vader being declared a suspect in the case "doesn't really surprise me."
"Other than that, I don't know what to think about him anymore," said Vader, 19.
The RCMP now say they believe the couple met with foul play, although they're not releasing details.
Bret McCann, the couple's son, said RCMP told him last week that they were planning on declaring Vader a suspect.
"Really, I'm pleased that the investigation has progressed to this stage," said McCann.
While the news doesn't ease his family's pain — his parents are still missing — he said it does help them look forward to an end to their "nightmare."
"We can't eat, we can't sleep. We haven't had a sense of normalcy," he said.
Lyle McCann, 78, and his wife Marie, 77, have not been seen since July 3, 2010, when Lyle McCann was captured on video gassing up their RV near their home in St. Albert, Alta., the start of an intended trip to British Columbia.
Two days later, the McCanns' burning RV was found at the Minnow Lake campground southeast of Edson, Alta. An SUV they were towing was found abandoned July 16 in a wooded area not far from Niton Junction, 156 kilometres west of Edmonton.
"We have had positive progress, and we now have enough information to up his status to a suspect," RCMP spokeswoman Doris Stapleton said Tuesday.
She could not say whether there are any other persons of interest or suspects in the case at this time.
"In all investigations, we must not get tunnel vision," she said.
No bodies have been recovered and the McCanns are still considered missing, said Stapleton. She could not confirm if forensic evidence was a factor in upgrading Vader's status from a person of interest to a suspect in the case.
Vader is next scheduled to appear in court Sept. 16 on unrelated charges, and remains in custody.
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