VICTORIANEWS VICTORIA ENTERTAINMENT
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A display of pride
Baseball is back
An art walk and exhibit are added to the list of Victoria Pride Week events. Page A24
Two Vancouver businessmen are bringing college-level baseball to Royal Athletic Park for 2013. Page A25
Friday, June 15, 2012
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WITHOUT A TRACE Fernwood man’s disappearance baffles family, detectives Erin McCracken News staff
When Daniel Gandza walked out the door of his friend’s apartment following dinner and a round of video games, it was as though he vanished into thin air. After heading out between 2:30 and 3 a.m. on April 27, he reached his basement suite, located a 15-minute walk away, near Fernwood Road and Walnut Street. Police know Gandza changed his clothes. His hiking boots and keys are gone, though his cellphone was left behind. His absence was immediately noted by his roommates and his employer; Gandza was scheduled to work the next morning. “It’s going on two months now and it just feels like it’s longer than that,” said his older sister, Joan Gandza, of View Royal. “So we’re worried, very worried.” The family has put up 300 posters in parks and neighbourhoods where the commercial and residential painter frequented or lived, including Beacon Hill and Fernwood, as well as around Mount Finlayson, Mount Doug and East Sooke regional park.
“Are there other possibilities out there? Absolutely. Could he have bonked his head and succumbed (to his injuries). Sure. Did he end it all? Possibly.” – Stephanie Jarymy, Daniel Gandza’s sister Victoria police detectives have reached out to police and community partners in B.C. and Alberta, exhausting six to 10 tips, including reports of possible sightings. It’s rare when detectives aren’t able to uncover signs that could explain a disappearance, such as mental illness, or a mental breakdown caused by a romantic breakup or a job loss. Of the 30 people police have interviewed, all said the same thing about the soft-spoken, generous man who enjoys gaming, skateboarding, hiking and camping. “In this case, we talked to all of Daniel’s family and friends and he was still the same way as
he was a couple weeks before, the month before,” said Victoria police Det. Paul Spencelayh, one of three detectives investigating the case. Gandza didn’t have a criminal past, wasn’t a drug user, had no enemies and had never before disappeared. Cellphone, computer and banking checks have yielded no clues. Stephanie Jarymy last spoke to her younger brother by telephone on April 25 to help plan his move out of his suite a few days later. “To me, that day he seemed fine,” said Jarymy, who lives in Esquimalt. “He was busy working, I was trying to get into the dentist office. It just seemed like a regular conversation I had with him.” Foul play, such as a mugging gone wrong, has been ruled out by police. “Traditionally, when that happens, you either find a person stumbling out of the hospital because they have a head injury or something, or you find a body on the road,” Spencelayh said. PLEASE SEE: Questions, Page A14
Erin McCracken/News staff
Joan Gandza, left, and sister Stephanie Jarymy stand outside the Victoria Police Department holding a poster with a picture of their younger brother, Daniel Gandza, who disappeared from Fernwood almost two months ago.
Bidders sought for old train station Roszan Holmen News staff
File photo
A VIA Rail train prepares to leave the downtown station in 2010.
The City of Victoria is asking parties interested in acquiring the former E & N Railway station to submit proposals for its relocation and reuse. It’s not going
to be an easy job for the winning proponent, however. “This building is built on slab – it cannot be picked up and moved,” Coun. Pam Madoff said. “It’s likely to have to be deconstructed and rebuilt.” The train station, located on
the east side of the Johnson Street bridge, was closed in April 2011, when VIA Rail stopped its Victoria-to-Courtenay run due to deteriorating track conditions. While the train is expected to run again in 2013, its new terminus will likely be in Vic West.
City engineer Peter Sparanese told council that proposals will be evaluated based on their cost to the city, as well as the “highest and best use” of the structure. PLEASE SEE: Station move, Page A4