Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 21, 2015, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A4 A 4 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, TUESDAY, JULY 21, 2015 TOP NEWS winnipegfreepress. com I T all seems so tragically familiar. A woman goes missing in broad daylight. A community mobilizes to begin searching. Whispers and gossip begin to creep into the daily conversation. And police, to use their own words, are left " grasping at straws" as they plead for public assistance. It's the Thelma Krull case, which is now well into its second week with no sign of the 57- year- old grandmother. But it could also be the Candace Derksen case, which is perhaps the most notorious missing- persons file seen in this city. Derksen, 13, vanished on her way home from school in November 1984. Her body would be found more than six weeks later, frozen and bound inside a shed. She was the victim of a homicide. " There seems to be the same kind of feeling here that our story had. No trace, totally out of character. And a sense of foreboding that someone must have intruded on her plans," Wilma Derksen told the Free Press on Monday. POLICE are still " struggling for details" in the disappearance of 57- yearold Thelma Krull. Investigators released more surveillance images of people who were jogging and walking in the Valley Gardens area July 11, hoping they can lead police closer to finding the missing woman. At a news conference Monday morning, spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen thanked the public for helping police track down two cyclists shown in previously released surveillance images. But the two weren't able to give investigators any significant information, Michalyshen said. More than 100 public tips have poured in on Krull's case, but none of them has led to a breakthrough in the case, Michalyshen said, adding the release of additional surveillance images is a " baby step" that shows police are making progress. " We're certainly not advancing as quickly as we would like. Of course, we would want answers immediately. We would want to be providing more information or certainly more positive information today - we're just not there yet," he said. " We are very much trying to keep this front and centre. This is obviously a very high- priority investigation for us, like all investigations are." Police have established a partial timeline - 7 a. m. to 10: 30 a. m. - of the Winnipeg mother and grandmother's whereabouts when she went out for a walk that Saturday morning, but they still have to fill gaps and are hoping information from someone who's seen her could move the investigation forward. They're also urging anyone with a security camera to check the footage and report anything that looks suspicious to police. Krull was last seen at 7: 23 a. m. on July 11, leaving her home in Harbourview South to go for a walk in the Valley Gardens area. She had been taking long walks recently in preparation to go hiking in B. C. later this summer, but she missed her grandson's birthday and her family has said it's extremely out of character for her not to be in contact with them. Krull's glasses were found in the Valley Gardens area July 15. Police said investigators recovered other items, but wouldn't confirm whether they belonged to Krull. Michalyshen expressed sympathy for Krull's family as the investigation stretches on into its 10th day. " I couldn't imagine what they're going through right now," he said. " We have to think about it from the family's side, that this isn't just another missing- person investigation, this is someone's loved one, that we all need to come together as a community to figure out what's taken place. What are we missing here?" Homicide investigators are leading this missing- persons case, but Michalyshen couldn't release specifics on whether police found evidence of foul play. He said police remain optimistic, but are keeping open minds as to whether something happened to Krull or whether she left of her own accord. " We're optimistic that that nugget of information will come forward at some point, but right now we're asking the public again for help. And potentially these individuals ( in the surveillance images released Monday) might provide us with that tip. But we'll keep plugging away." katie. may@ freepress. mb. ca You can help victims, too Wilma Derksen has a dream: for victims of crime to have a safe haven where they can gather together for mutual support and a pooling of valuable resources. In a perfect world, this sort of facility would not be needed. But there are too many local tragedies, too many families in need. The result is Candace House, a non- profit, non- adversarial, non- partisan charity seeking to gather the funds needed to purchase a gathering place near the downtown Winnipeg courthouse, hopefully by the fall of 2017. A major fundraiser is scheduled for Sunday - and Derksen and her team of supporters need your help. The Candace House Family Fun Day BBQ will be held at the Eastview Community Church in East St. Paul from 2- 6 p. m. The event includes a silent auction, food, entertainment and plenty of activities for children. Tickets can be purchased online now at candacehouse. net for $ 10 per person or $ 35 for a family of five. Painful present - and past MIKE MCINTYRE She has been watching the Krull case closely and said it's brought back many of the " ugly, ugly feelings" of her daughter's deadly disappearance. She hasn't yet spoken with any members of the missing woman's family, wanting to give them space at this difficult time. But she's one of the few in this city who knows what they are going through. " The pain, the fear is big. The fear that there's going to be a horrible ending," said Derksen. " My worst fear was always that ( Candace) was suffering somewhere." Initial thoughts that perhaps Krull suffered some type of medical issue seem to erode with each passing day. After all, wouldn't she have been found by now? There is also no indication Krull went missing by her own choice. That doesn't leave a lot of other alternative explanations. Fears of potential foul play only grew last week with the discovery of her glasses - which police admitted was a " concerning development." Only hours later, the homicide unit took over as lead investigators. And while Krull is still officially deemed a missing person, it's yet another troubling sign. Homicide is a busy enough unit, and its investigators typically don't get involved in cases unless it's believed their services are going to be required. Social media can be a powerful tool for quickly getting the word out about cases like Krull's. And it's been used effectively at times here, especially when it comes to organizing volunteer searches. " There's such a relief in knowing that people are there with you because it can feel so lonely," Derksen said Monday of the community outpouring. " That's one of the great things about Winnipeg. So there's tremendous comfort there." But the Internet age can also have a dark side. There is plenty of online armchair detective work at play in Krull's case, leading to baseless speculation and rumours running wild about what could have happened to her and who might be to blame. Derksen knows what this is like. Although there was no Twitter or Facebook when her daughter disappeared, there was plenty of finger- pointing in the family's direction. Every word that came out of their mouths, every action they took, was being watched and analyzed. By police. By the community. " The stares can really hurt. You can feel the glaring," Derksen said. She recalls one time, while pleading for help about Candace, her anxious fears expressed themselves in a laugh. This led to some drawing their own conclusions. " There is no script for this type of situation. It can be a very hurtful time," said Derksen. Her husband, Cliff, was also treated like a suspect. As were other male family members and friends. Derksen said it's much easier now to understand that, as statistics show the random, stranger- type attack which ultimately was involved in Candace's abduction and killing is much more rare. Typically, when foul play is involved, the offender is known to the victim. And so police naturally zero in on those closest to the missing person. " We knew we were being investigated the entire time," said Derksen. She isn't surprised to hear police have not told the Krull family about every facet of their ongoing investigation. For example, the homicide unit's involvement wasn't made official by police until more than 24 hours after it was first reported by the Free Press . " Police aren't always thinking of the family, they're focused on it more objectively. They don't have to tell the family everything. They certainly didn't in our case," said Derksen. For the Derksens, it would be more than two decades of waiting and wondering until police, using DNA analysis, would arrest Mark Grant. Grant, a convicted sex offender, has since been convicted only to have a new trial ordered based on judicial errors. No date has been set. Derksen hopes the Krull family gets their answers soon. " I knew early on there was no good ending to our story. We always thought that if she was alive she would have come home," said Derksen. " Your heart, it just aches here for the family. In order to feel safe, we need to have answers. Otherwise, it's like bumping around in the dark." www. mikeoncrime. com Krull case dredges up ' ugly, ugly feelings' for Derksen family RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Wilma Derksen holds a photo of her daughter, Candace, who was slain in 1984. Case remains a struggle By Katie May Police release more surveillance photos Police are looking for two joggers ( top) and one pedestrian ( above left) in the hopes they may have seen Thelma Krull ( above right) on the day she disappeared. JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Winnipeg police survey a large hill Monday near Kildonan- East Collegiate, in the general area where Thelma Krull was last seen July 11. A_ 04_ Jul- 21- 15_ FP_ 01. indd A4 7/ 20/ 15 9: 03: 18 PM ;