Frustrated father asks for info on missing girl
It will soon be two years since Barry Shpeley's daughter disappeared and not knowing if she's dead or alive is wearing on him.
Candace Shpeley, 23 years of age and the single mother of three small children, was living in Abbotsford on March 31, 2007, the day she vanished. Candace was last seen in Surrey and her car was found abandoned in Vancouver.
Shpeley and his wife, Kathryne, are caring for two of their grandchildren, Candace's daughters. The third child, a boy, is living with his father.
Abbotsford Police initially handled the missing person file, but eventually it was turned over to IHIT, a regional homicide team comprising investigators from the RCMP and several municipal forces. The investigation has hit a wall and Barry Shpeley doesn't know where to turn for help.
He called a press conference at Surrey's provincial courthouse on Wednesday hoping media attention might trigger a break in the case, but only local newspaper reporters showed up to hear what he had to say.
"I wish the TV people had come. I want this to go across Canada. The police say she hasn't left the country, so where is she?" Shpeley asked.
Shpeley picked the Surrey courthouse for his conference because Candace was last seen in this city and the man he believes was the last person to see her was scheduled to appear there on an unrelated murder charge.
"The police told me she went to see him at his place in Surrey that day. I asked his lawyer for a face-to-face meeting with him to ask him about her, but he said he's not interested."
Shpeley isn't happy with IHIT's handling of the case either. He said the investigation appears to be stalled and he's getting little information.
"I've been told that because there's no evidence that anything happened to her, they can't do anymore for her; that they can't get any warrants or anything," he said.
Shpeley also said four different detectives have taken the lead on his daughter's file since IHIT took over, leaving him to think the homicide squad isn't giving the file a high priority.
RCMP Corp. Dale Carr is IHIT's media spokesman. He said a missing person file with no evidence of foul play reduces the number of investigative tools available to police.
"Often times judges aren't willing to give us authorization in the form of warrants to search or to listen in [wiretap a subject's phone], that kind of thing," Carr said. "But we take these files very seriously."
Frustrated with the lack of progress in the police investigation, Shpeley has turned to other sources of information.
"I've talked to four psychics. One said she's a hostage, one said she's alive and two said she's dead. They said go look here. I've walked through brambles, up to my waist in water. Nothing,
but that's what you do as a parent."
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