Wednesday, Sep 01, 2010 06:00 am

By: Ryan Tumilty

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  Travis Edward Vader is now considered a suspect in the disappearance of Lyle and Marie McCann of St. Albert.

  Supplied photo
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The RCMP has now labelled Travis Edward Vader a suspect in the disappearance of a St. Albert couple.

Vader has been considered a person of interest since mid July and was arrested on unrelated charges on July 19. Lyle and Marie McCann were last seen leaving the city in their motorhome on July 3 for a vacation in British Columbia.

The McCanns were reported missing on July 10 when they failed to arrive. Their motorhome was found burned near Edson several days earlier.

The RCMP has said the investigation has moved forward, but aren’t releasing many details.

"As a result of this positive progress, Mr. Vader is now a suspect in this investigation. Revealing the specifics of what that information may or may not be, would be inappropriate," said Sgt. Tim Taniguchi.

The move to a suspect means the RCMP specifically believe Vader may have committed a crime, as opposed to a person of interest, who is only believed to have some knowledge of a crime.

Bret McCann was encouraged by the latest development in his parents’ disappearance.

"My family is pleased that this investigation is proceeding and we think this brings us closer to finding my parents and ending this nightmare."

Bret also said he is outraged Vader hasn’t said something about his parents that could have brought the couple home.

"I am infuriated, basically knowing that Travis Vader could have known where my parents are and hasn’t said anything all summer," he said. "How could someone know something about a pair of elderly people in the woods and keep that information to themselves?"

The McCann family has set up a special reward fund to encourage tips about the case, with more than $50,000 raised to date, Bret said.

Taniguchi said they continue to look for anyone who might have information about the investigation and don’t want people to focus solely on Vader.

"We don’t want to have tunnel vision. We want to talk to anyone who knows about this investigation and may have seen Mr. Vader or the McCanns during that time period."

Anyone with any information about the case is being asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or the St. Albert RCMP at 780-458-7700.