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THURSDAY, September 27, 2012
Proudly serving Williams Lake and the Cariboo-Chilcotin since 1930
VOL. 82. No. 76
$1.34 inc. HST
RCMP seek help identifying robbers
One Highway of Tears murder solved
The Williams Lake and District Crime stoppers are still requesting the public’s assistance identifying the subjects involved in an armed robbery at the Williams Lake Bank of Commerce which occurred at about 2:30 a.m. on May 6, 2012. The victims were at the cash machine in the bank lobby when two subjects came up behind them, physically assaulted one of the subjects and stole an undisclosed amount of cash from them. Robbers were described as non-white and wearing dark grey bandanas and dark clothing. One subject was approximately 5’7”, and the other considerably taller. Anyone with information on this crime is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or the Williams Lake RCMP at 250392-6211. Crime Stoppers also subscribes to web tips at www.bccrimestoppers.com.
Deceased U.S. prison inmate Bobby Jack Fowler has been named the murderer of 16-year-old Colleen MacMillen — one of the 18 women in the Highway of Tears cases. Colleen, who lived with her family near Lac La Hache, disappeared in 1974 while hitchhiking on Highway 97 near Lac La Hache on her way to a friend’s house on Timothy Lake Road. “She was last seen about 8 p.m. on Aug. 9 and reported missing on Aug. 11 when it was realized she had not reached her destination,” the Tribune reported on Sept. 5, 1974. An American tourist, upon finding her clothing intact at 102 Mile House, reported the findings to the 100 Mile House RCMP. Her body was later found beside a logging road off Davis Lake Road, 46 kilometres south of where she was last seen. Investigators from the RCMP’s Project E-PANA, which is investigating the Highway of Tears murders, held a press conference Tuesday to announce their findings that Fowler, who died in an Oregon prison in 2006 of natural causes, was Colleen’s murderer. Insp. Gary Shinkaruk, officer in charge of the B.C. RCMP Major Crime, Special Projects Unit, said: “In June of 2007, E-PANA investigators re-submitted exhibits from Colleen’s case to the RCMP Vancouver Forensic Lab for DNA analysis. A DNA profile of an unknown male was identified from Colleen’s case. It was submitted to the National Crime Scene Databank. There was no match. “In 2012 with the advances in DNA technology, E-PANA investigators requested a re-examination of the profile. That resulted in a higher quality sample being developed which allowed it to be submitted to INTERPOL that includes access to foreign DNA databases.” On May 3, 2012, the Oregon Department of State - Police Forensic Laboratory obtained a CODIS DNA match. The match was to Fowler. “Based on what E-PANA investigators know today, Fowler is responsible for the murder of 16-year-old Colleen MacMillen,” Shinkaruk said. Colleen was the daughter of Shir-
Inside the Tribune NEWS School closures proposed.
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SPORTS A9 Pinettes bring home medals. COMMUNITY Dancing up a splash.
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Weather outlook: Mainly sunny today, high of 20 C. Cloudy/ chance of showers Friday, high of 21 C.
Monica Lamb-Yorski Tribune Staff Writer
Photos courtesy of the RCMP
In 1974, 16-year-old Colleen MacMillen (left) from Lac La Hache went missing while hitchhiking to a friend’s house. Her body was later discovered beside a logging road. On Tuesday, police identified her killer as deceased U.S. prison inmate Bobby Jack Fowler (right). ley and A.V. MacMillen. Colleen’s father used to be the principal at Columneetza high school between
1966 and 1972. At the press conference Colleen’s brother Shawn MacMillen described Colleen as
The RCMP’s Project E-PANA is investigating the Highway of Tears cases that include the girls and women shown above, who are listed as either missing or murdered. The cases date back as far as 1969 with the murder of Gloria Moody, whose body was found west of Williams Lake.
an innocent and sweet kid, and said the family was stunned and grateful for the news. “It’s been a long wait for answers,” he said, adding it’s an unsatisfactory result because the individual won’t stand trial, but the family is comforted by the fact Fowler died in jail and could not hurt anyone else. He said the MacMillens’ thoughts go out to the remaining families whose daughters were victims. Project E-PANA is comprised of 18 cases involving 13 homicides and five missing women investigations ranging from 1969 to 2006 and involve women and girls who were involved in activity like hitchhiking and were last seen or found within a mile of Highway 16, Highway 97, or Highway 5. Fowler has been eliminated as a suspect in eight of the E-PANA files. However, he remains a person of interest in the remaining cases, including 19-year-old Gale Weys, who was last seen hitchhiking from Clearwater, B.C. on Oct. 16, 1973 and was found murdered six months later; and 19-year-old Kamloops resident Pamela Darlington, who was murdered and found in Pioneer Park on Nov. 7, 1973. See FOWLER Page A2