Grand Canyon: a Series of Unfortunate Events
I’m just back from a road trip that included the Grand Canyon. The place is beyond spectacular and I’ll spare you my clumsy attempt to try to capture its spirit. Instead, I thought I’d tell you the...
View ArticleTaken: Casey Rose Bohun
On August 4, 1989, Barbara Bohun and her two daughters, Casey 3, and 14-month old Stacy were at a family barbecue in Maple Ridge. Barbara’s sister Beverly drove them home to Delta, tucked Casey into...
View ArticleFrits Jacobsen: Anatomy of an East Van House
Frits Jacobsen arrived in Vancouver in 1968. He was a prolific artist and captured some of Vancouver’s iconic and long-gone buildings such as Birks, the Englesea Lodge, and the Orillia on Robson...
View ArticleThe Alley Murders
Between April 1988 and August 1990, a serial killer murdered six sex trade workers and dumped their bodies in the laneways of Vancouver. Officially, the murders are unsolved and two were added to the...
View ArticleVancouver’s O Canada House
I first came across the O Canada house when I was writing At Home with History around 2005. In those days, there were only hard copies of the city directories at Vancouver Archives and Google Maps was...
View ArticleNancy Johnsen: The Cloverdale Murder
On November 6, 1967 sometime before 6:00 pm, seven-year-old Nancy Johnsen went missing from her Cloverdale, BC farmhouse. Nancy, one of 10 children ranging in age from six months to 16 years, was...
View ArticleThe Leslie House
Il Giardino: The last time we were here, the server was so overcome by the beauty of a group of women sitting near us that he broke into an aria. Turns out that when he wasn’t waiting tables he was...
View ArticleWhere is Michael Smith?
Michael Smith, 17 missing since December 30, 1967. Last seen at his North Vancouver home. Canada’s Missing website (National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains) RCMP case #2014003272...
View ArticleVancouver’s Peace House and the Grateful Dead
I was riding my bike along Point Grey Road this week and snapped a few photos of the Peace House. It’s an interesting looking place, and as it turns out, has quite the past. 3148 Point Grey Road: It...
View ArticleThree Ghost Stories and a Murder
In this last episode of season 4, Cold Case Canada, I’ve asked four BC-based storytellers to tell us their favourite murder and haunted building stories. Francis Rattenbury (1867-1935) Will Woods,...
View ArticleThe Lonsdale Theatre: Then and Now
Opening Night: North Vancouver’s Lonsdale Theatre opened on December 11, 1911, to a packed house and an eclectic line-up. The Orchestra kicked off with Titania, followed by two animated films. The...
View ArticleWho Killed Nurse Inglis?
On September 10, 1969, 26-year-old nurse Myrna Louise Inglis finished her shift at St. Paul’s Hospital. It was shortly after midnight, the end of a long day, and she was tired. She changed out of her...
View ArticleElsie MacGill (1905-1980)
October is Women’s History Month in Canada. This gives me a great excuse to write about Elsie MacGill, the Queen of the Hurricanes. Elsie Gregory MacGill grew up on Harwood Street in Vancouver’s West...
View ArticleFrancis Rattenbury: A Halloween Horror Story
Francis Rattenbury moved to Victoria in 1892. The 25-year-old had beat out 60 other architects to win the design competition for BC’s Parliament Buildings. Although massively over budget, the...
View ArticleThe Ghost of Vancouver Firehall No. 19
Ryan Cameron has worked with Vancouver Fire and Rescue for the past 27 years. During that time, he’s had his fair share of burning buildings, calls to accidents, and of course, firehall hauntings....
View ArticleThe House that Joe Built
Multiplexes will soon replace single family homes all over Vancouver. How many stories will be erased from our history? I was reading an article in the Vancouver Sun yesterday called “Multiplexes may...
View ArticleCold Case Canada: The Alley Murders Trailer
Transcript for The Alley Murder episode trailer I just want to know what happened. I want the whole story. I want people to know that she was more than a prostitute, she was more than a dancer, she...
View ArticleGranville and Georgia Streets: 150 Years in Virtual Reality
It’s Heritage Week (February 19 – 25) and if you’re looking for something to do Sunday, drop by Heritage Hall on Main Street and check out the Vancouver Heritage Foundation’s community fair. This...
View ArticleThe 1976 Murder of Elizabeth Gardner
In 1976, when Heather Ede was 14 years old and living in Powell River, BC, the body of her friend Elizabeth (Lizzie) Gardner was found under the Lois River Bridge. For over 45 years Heather wondered...
View ArticleCold Case Canada is a Webby Award Nominee!
I am thrilled to tell you that Cold Case Canada is up for a Webby Award – the only Canadian nominee in the Crime and Justice podcast category. This is a really big deal. The New York Times called the...
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