First published April 1, 2012There's a time Travis Vader remembers, back in Summerland, B.C., when he was happy, living with his wife and seven children in a nice, big house, working hard, making money, providing for his family.
It was the time before Vader's name and mug shot became familiar around the province. The time before the former oilfield worker was widely thought to be the person who killed St. Albert seniors Lyle and Marie McCann.
"I had a life," Vader told the Journal recently. "I had some good things going for me. I'm a normal person. I'm a person like anyone else out there, who works hard and cares for the people around them."
Vader, 40, is the only person who has been publicly identified as a suspect in the disappearance of the McCanns, who vanished in July 2010 while on their way to meet their daughter in B.C.
Though their bodies have never been found, RCMP believe the McCanns were killed.
Police linked Vader to the case within days, releasing his name and mug shot as a "person of interest," and warning the public not to approach him. After Vader's arrest on unrelated charges, RCMP upgraded his status to "suspect."
"They basically said, 'This is the guy. He did it,' " said Vader's sister, Alicia. Yet nearly two years later, charges have not been laid.
Defence lawyer Daniel Mol said he's concerned that Vader has been denied the presumption of innocence in the public eye, and is instead presumed to be guilty - without having been charged.
Vader's family also has serious concerns about the way the case has been handled.
"Travis is still, as far as we're concerned, hopefully, innocent," said Vader's father, Ed. "So he still deserves the same rights as anybody else, and he does not deserve the treatment he has been getting.
"This has dragged on so long, and people have been allowed to say such rotten stuff, and he's been passed off in such a bad light. If you say something long enough, people believe it."
Both Vader's family and the family of the McCanns strongly believe there was more than one person involved in the crime. And, though Vader is the only person to have been publicly identified as a suspect, other names persistently arise in relation to the case.
As the second anniversary of the couple's disappearance approaches, there are mounting questions. If police believe Vader killed the couple, why haven't they charged him? Are there other suspects under investigation?
Perhaps most importantly, what if police have been focusing on the wrong person?
The McCanns' son, Bret, said he has asked himself those questions "a million times."
"But we have a lot of faith in the RCMP, and they don't name someone a suspect lightly," he said. "These things take time, they say."
READ MORE: Misery endures for families in the McCann mystery
