Reconstruction of the victim; Model of the victim wearing a red tartan jacket, leather helmet and cream or fawn corduroy slacks; Shoe one of the victim's was wearing.
Identified...Identified...Identified
Reconstruction of the victim; Model of the victim wearing a red tartan jacket, leather helmet and cream or fawn corduroy slacks; Shoe one of the victim's was wearing.
Date of Discovery: January 14, 1953
Location of Discovery: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Estimated Date of Death: Autumn of 1947
State of Remains: Skeletal
Cause of Death: Homicide by blunt trauma to the head
Estimated Age: 7-10 years old
Race: White
Sex: Male
Height: Unknown
Weight: Unknown
Hair Color: Light
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Unknown
Dentals: Available.
Fingerprints: Not available.
DNA: Available.
Clothing: Clothing had deteriorated. Brown Oxfords with white crepe rubber soles, a belt and a leather aviation helmet with goggles, and a zipper jacket or sweater.
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: A little blue tin lunch box (the paper lining had rotted). A small worn rusty hatchet with the handle broken in two peices. This tool was commonly used by shinglers or lathers.
The victim and his unidentified brother (formerly believed to be female) were located in a brush-filled area of Stanley Park in Vancouver
The children were covered by what appeared to be a woman's rain cape. The bodies were laying in a straight line with their feet almost close together and their heads at opposite directions.
The hatchet found at the scene was most likely used as the murder weapon, as one victim's skull had a wound to the back of the head which the hatchet fit in exact proportions. The other skull was fractured by what may have been the hammer of the axe.
Vancouver Police wish to identify a woman and two boys who may or may not have been involved with this case. In 1949 or 1950, a man who worked in a logging camp, and his companion, picked up a woman with two children. During the ride, she had told the men that she had been in trouble with the Mission Police for vagrancy charges. They learned that either one or both her children at sometime attended Cedar Valley School and that she lived on Cherry Street in Mission, B.C.
There is the possibility that the woman had meant "Vag C", which in the criminal code at that time meant prostitution. The only description available for the woman is that she had red hair. The two boys who were with her were about 6 and 7 years old and at least one wore an aviator flying helmet. Because of this lead, the police managed to find the family name of Grant, but this lead was exhausted after speaking to surviving family members.
The children are known as the "Babes in the Wood" of Stanley Park.
Agency Name: Vancouver Police Department
Agency Contact Person: N/A
Agency Phone Number: 604-717-3321
Agency E-Mail: N/A
Agency Case Number: Unknown
Wikipedia
Vancouver Police Department
Ret. Sgt. Brian Honeybourn
Vancouver Sun News Archive
Crimestoppers
Added: Prior to 2005; Last Updated: 8/5/18
Questions or comments? Please contact appropriate member of the Area Team
** Listed information may be estimated.
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