Someone Knows Something - S1 Episode 4: Hello, Adrien?

Episode Date: March 21, 2016

Is Adrien still alive? If so, what would he look like today? Forensic artist Diana Trepkov creates a series of age-progression sketches to help SKS in their quest to solve the mystery of McNaughton's disappearance. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/sks/season1/someone-knows-something-season-1-adrien-mcnaughton-transcripts-listen-1.3846202

We Built This City is a collection of stories from Mississauga, capturing the rich history, culture, sports, music, and incredible individuals who have shaped Mississauga into the vibrant city it is today. This brand new series, created by Visit Mississauga, celebrates a city 50 years in the making, paying homage to Ontario's vibrant, diverse, and dynamic third largest city. Tune in to Visit Mississauga's brand new podcast, We Built This City, This is a CBC Podcast. In 1972, five-year-old Adrian McNaughton vanished while on a fishing trip in eastern Ontario. Documentarian David Ridgen goes accepted in a small town.

A long time for people to get to know you, and another long time for people to think they know you. And then you've got to decide if you care or not. The point is that, for better or worse, everyone in that town eventually thinks they know who you are. So how would it go for a five-year-old boy like Adrian McNaughton, who back in June 1972, some say, might have been abducted from the nearby wilderness.

A forced adoption. A person or a family who wanted a little boy to raise as their own so badly that when they happened to pass Holmes Lake at exactly the moment Adrian went missing, they took him away and kept him away for over 44 years. That's a scenario believed to this day by some of Adrian's family members.

Adrian's second eldest brother, Greg, is at the McNaughton family home in Armprior, along with his mother, father, and siblings. I was so young at the time that I don't really recall a whole lot other than we were all out fishing. Adrian walked away and he just disappeared. Well, I don't think I really realized the seriousness of what had happened. So I was only eight years old. I don't talk about it very much. I'm an introvert with my feelings, which I just kind of shrug it off and say it's a sad thing,

and there's not a whole lot people can say to make you feel any better about it. I think somebody took him. I don't think he really got lost. But what surprises me is up in Calabogie, or up where he was lost, there's nothing, not a trace of anything to be found up there. Murray has said all along, someone has him. I believe the same thing. They took him to give to another family.

That would make me happy to know that he was not abused, that he was given to good. If he was used for bad things, I don't even try not to even think about that. One of them is he's alive and living somewhere and doesn't even know he was lost. How do you know you're missing when you don't know you're missing? Adrian's eldest brother, Lee.

And I don't know if you can, unless a memory can flood back. And you hear stories of people who were snatched away, kidnapped, changes their name. After a while, you start to think, well, I am whatever the new name is. And when you're as young as Adrian would have been... Adrian's sister, Lisa. Well, I even, like,'m all the places I've lived, I'll see somebody and think, could that be him? You know, just by a certain look or... But there was a few times, like, I'd get talking to somebody

and I'd think, after I walked away, I should have said, where are you from or what's your name or, you know what I mean? Greg's on the couch across from me, next to his sister Chantel. He's a larger framed guy of average height, with that affable arm prior air. And like his other family members sitting nearby, he becomes most animated when talking about any possibility of still finding Adrian alive. He points to a wall near a closet. And there I see a framed drawing of what looks to me like an older man in his 50s or 60s.

Greg leans politely toward my microphone. Do you see anybody in our family with a cleft chin? There's nobody. The picture, actually a police sketch, is supposed to be of Adrian, as he would look in his mid to late 30s. It was created in 2009 out of the Renfrew detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police.

And it's fast apparent what the family gathered around me think of it. That face looks to me like a criminal's almost. Now, why do I think that? I tend to agree. Do you, Greg? Isn't that funny?

It looks like somebody's mugshot. I think there are family traits that are in there, the high forehead and stuff, but I just, I think he looks too old. And I think he looks too thin. There is a possibility that he could be a thinner man, but I think that is just a little bit too thin of a look for the people that are in this family. They could have done two or three renditions of it.

Different weights, different beard, mustache. You know, somebody, he may have ended up with a family and had a great life and, you know. And that's what I hope. That's what we hope, but I mean... The police released their 2009 sketch to the newspapers, but no Adrian turned up. Adrian in 2016 would now appear to be 48 or 49.

If you're not satisfied with the drawing, that's another avenue we could do, we could look at. If he is still out there, if he is still out there, and he is with a family, then I believe a picture's worth a thousand words. It's the same goals. Just driving to get Diana Trepkov out here in Ajax Ontario on the way to earn prior to meet the McNaughton family talk about sketches which one it was, I remember. Hey, be good, dogs. How are you? I'm good, I'm good. So what are you thinking as we go,

just before we get in the car? What do you think about it? Just excited to meet the family and hear their story and see, and just give them some hope. Great, okay, well, let's go. I'm going to hook you up.

Diana Trepkoff is a forensic artist. She makes sketches and sculptures for police and victims' families in missing persons cases or when unidentified human remains are found. She also creates age progressions, remaking children as they would appear as adults. Something that could make a real difference if Adrian is still alive. And age progressions is my specialty like I did Nicole Moran's and tons of age progressions. Diane Prevost, that's an OPP case where the whole family is still waiting for her to

come home one day. It all comes down to having empathy. You can't be a good forensic artist unless you really care about people and when you care about people and it when you care about people that much you'll do anything to help them and it's ironic because I was afraid of death growing up and I couldn't even look at a skull I couldn't watch horror movies couldn't watch The Exorcist anything like that and then now I'm working on actual skulls the real skull building faces and you get past that it's not it's not scary at all. It's actually really sad. And

you're just helping the victim get their name back. And when I explain to people what I do, sometimes they're like, that's really morbid. I'm like, it's not morbid. It's helping people. You know, that's a child or, you know, that's somebody out there that's waiting to go back home. As we drive the lonely Highway 7 to Arnprior, Diana and I swap cold case stories. Who disappeared where and when, timelines, victims' families that break apart or stay together, or who return yearly to the places where their loved one disappeared. She's like an emotional sponge, and I hope I am not.

And I feel like she's been through a lot in her life. Diana seems incredibly organized, bright blonde hair, makeup, a cancer survivor with purpose, ready for Adrian. The whole point is somebody knows something about what happened to him, whether he's dead or alive. Let's hope we're gearing for he's alive. But somebody knows something about what happened to him whether he's dead or alive let's hope we're gearing for he's alive but somebody knows something and nobody keeps everything in forever so sometimes when people are drinking showing off they say stuff miracles happen you know that's what i'm i'm shooting for with this one i'm gonna sit with the family, I'm gonna get a feel for them, I'm gonna listen to their story, listen to what happened, share some of their pain

because I'm sure it'll like hit me in the heart when I see what, see the expressions on their face and what they've went through for all these years. And it's a real natural process and then and then when I'm ready I would start drawing. Hi, I'm Diana. Nice to meet you. What would be the biggest miracle here that we find them, that we get answers? Closure. hear that, that we find him, that we get answers. The truth. Oh, to find him.

Closure. To find him. Yes. Closure. Is it closure or just the healing can begin? Because it's been a long time. I think that's what closure is, though, isn't it? Yeah.

You can't really start to heal until you know. Yeah. I honestly believe he's alive because there's nothing in my heart saying different. Until there's like that concrete proof, there's no way anybody can say anything or do anything unless they have the proof. Five and a half, have a little bit of memory. You know what, from what I hear, we don't know, just say someone took him and brought him up. He would always feel something doesn't feel right. And we do this, the age regression, we get it out, and then he would be like, wait a

minute, something never did feel right with this family. That's how it's, it's an investigative tool that is put out there and then people start talking. And unless you know otherwise, there's a very good chance that he is alive. You know? That's the one thing I think. Will he have changed a lot and not be the sweet little boy that he was? He won't be dog hair anymore. So how would you, how do you vision him today? Not like that picture up on the wall. That's an artist rendition that I don't feel looks like him at all.

None of us do. That's what police did. That was a forensic report. Who did this? It was through the OPP. The one thing that gets me is that that cleft chin. Even when I was thinner, I never, I didn't have a cleft chin. I think personality-wise you're not gonna see Rockstar. I think clean cut. Clean cut.

Maybe with some facial hair but clean cut. Maybe a goatee. If he's with another family it depends on the cut of the family, what kind of life he had growing up, whether if he's going to be clean cut or if he's going to be thin or if he's going to be heavy. But that picture was just not a picture of him to me. That rendition or drawing just didn't suit him. It would be nice to have a couple different pictures, like, you know, thin with a beard, heavy with a beard. The more I'm with you guys, the more I'm looking at everybody,

the more I'm listening and seeing pictures, I'm seeing him. I'm seeing him, like, right now, what he would look like, so. I go on Facebook, though, and looked up Adrian on Facebook to see if maybe I would. And there was only one that even looked close, but just the age was off and everything else. It would probably be a different name too if somebody has him. Oh yeah, definitely he wouldn't.

But his eyes, his eyes will be his eyes. I mean, they could change his name and he could have a beard, short hair, no hair, but these eyes are going to be his eyes no matter what. It's amazing how genetics do fit. I remember I was 24-something and I coughed and I thought my father was in the room because it was his cough, but I sounded like him. It was a really weird thing so you know I knew

I was my father's son just that that that genetic connection do you feel there's a good chance he's still alive oh that's only that's purely speculation I don't know but it's okay I'm just like, what were your feelings? Like my feelings are, yeah, I'm, I'm hoping he's alive. You know, I really am. But that's a different. I know. I know. But I'm not, I'm not his brother. You're his brother. So I'm just wondering, like growing up, were you like, I feel he's still alive. He's out there somewhere. Uh, I would say I probably hoped he was alive. It was always a chance he could be alive, but beyond that, I don't know. As our visit comes to an end,

Diana gathers some of the few photos that still remain of the McNaughtons as children. Most photos of Adrian were lost in a fire. That's when I was younger. Thank you. There's Chantelle when she was younger. That's Chantelle with Curtis. I don't know which one she would like.

She takes her own pictures of the family, one by one, in a corner lit by an old tungsten lamp. So just ignore the flashes just for face shape and stuff. And maybe a little bit of a smile. It's very little. It's probably blanked. No, no. And can you put your hair just away? Yeah, okay. And then just side profile and then I'll be done. Perfect.

Thank you. Okay. Now I'm just getting tired and I have to drive. And with that, we get back on the road. And you can't give up because a lot of these people, they're found or they're waiting to be found. Like, it's a big world out there, and unfortunately there's not too many people we can trust, which I hate to say, you know, someone who couldn't have a kid.

And then they see a cute little child, and they take him. We Built This City is a collection of stories from Mississauga, capturing the rich history, culture, sports, music, and incredible individuals who have shaped Mississauga into the vibrant city it is today. This brand new series, created by Visit Mississauga, celebrates a city 50 years in the making, paying homage to Ontario's vibrant, diverse, and dynamic third largest city. Tune in to Visit Mississauga's brand new podcast, We Built This City, to learn more. Available now on CBZ Listen.

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For free tools and resources to help you manage your home finances and clear your head, visit Canada.ca slash ItPaysToKnow. A message from the Government of Canada. Back at home and wasting little time, Diana starts to draw. She's working in a home office, surrounded by the artifacts of past cases she's worked on. Practiced skulls, sketches of what Franklin Expedition members might have looked like based on their bones, convicted murderers and what they might look like on the run, news articles featuring Diana's sculptures of people based on unidentified remains.

It's a forensic cold case paradise. I guess we'll start with the most important, and it's his eyes. The eyes are the mirror of the soul. It's the number one thing I always say and I believe in. You can tell a lot from a person through looking at their eyes. And with him, I see a shy boy, maybe a little mysterious, a gentle, kind boy. And it was important to know a bit about the story when I draw him so I could get a feel for him and I can be as true to his character when I'm drawing him.

Why are the pictures upside down sometimes? Sometimes to get a very accurate drawing, you would turn something upside down as a reference, so that way you're drawing using the right side of your brain, not the left side of your brain. When you're drawing using the right side of the brain, you're drawing what's actually there so you can see things more clearly. Once I turn him upside down, something will tell me if it's off. Like right here, I've been studying a lot.

You know, like for his mouth, it has almost that S shape. So I make sure I got that. And a little bit of, just to smooth it out with your different grays for more realistic. And then a little bit of sideburns here, just because both brothers have them, and he's 49. And this is very comfortable for me to draw upside down. I'll just get those hair strokes in. I would love to meet him. I would hope we find him and we can see him. And the eyes are so important.

So make sure it's really dark inside. And then the line, the eyelashes. He's male but he still has eyelashes. I also just do them kind of like faint. My little teardrops in here. And again, the way I would draw Adrian was with bird music. I have this nature bird music, and I'd be playing that 5 in the morning on and on, and that way I just would pretend I'm in some tropical place and nobody's around and I'm just drawing so I'm drawing what's there and I'm not being distracted at all

and it's important to get the shadows too and through here then his chin, his mom's chin here, you know, a bit on his sister's chin. I see them very similar on the chin. And I also see Lee's eyes and a bit of Greg. But I see him close with Lee and close with his sister here too. So what I'm going to do is I'm going to age him. I'm going to add a little bit more crow's feet, more under the eyes to get him to 49 years old. And he has the scar one to two inches across his eye. A real person is taking form in front of me.

It's Adrian wearing the same little boy hairstyle he disappeared with at age five, but an Adrian that looks about 40 years older. Someone that someone could know or think they knew. I'm just going to smooth out his hair a little bit here, add a bit more strokes. And on one of the other images that I'm gonna do, it's gonna be like really receding through here. I get some facial hair. It's gonna, he's gonna look so different. And then also one with glasses, he looks so different. I think this one will touch the parents and the family's heart the most

because it's, I wanted to leave similar, like I even went to the bay and bought a men's shirt with the stripes because I wanted to give that feeling that he's still in that shirt. So you're going to keep aging him? Just very, very little. What do you think? I think he looks a little younger than 48, 49 to me. Do you know I never really draw with anybody around me?

So it's still Adrian. I'm just following the aging process, looking at the brothers because of genetics. They might age very similar. So I will stop. So I'm just going to sign it. So this is the master. And Adrian, if you're out there, we're going to find you. We'll get all these sketches of Adrian onto our website at www.cbc.ca slash sks and also into the papers on the web and social media to see if they jog someone's memory or even

cause someone to remember who they are. A process I can only speculate would hit the affected person at a deep, perhaps even unconscious level. Lee McNaughton. There's a whole area of false memory stuff that I know there is false memories out there. I pretty much guarantee you that after, there'll be a couple of people coming forward

from who knows. I'm Adrian. Yeah. We'll have to look at that. Well, yeah, that's where you'd use DNA and stuff. Oh, if there's one thought I've had over the years would be, what kind of relationship will I have if he shows up? He's my brother and will always be my brother.

And so that would be an interesting experience to add a new person back to the family. It can never go away. Where or who he is doesn't matter. He will be my brother till my dying day. On the next episode of Someone Knows Something... It's all just totally conflicting emotions.

You know, and I'm looking around, and you think of these creepy horror movies where there's something sticking out of the dirt. Like, really? You want to find something, yet you don't. And if you do, how do you want to find it? Visit cbc.ca slash sks

to see photos related to Adrian McNaughton's disappearance. Subscribe in iTunes or your favorite podcast app to catch up on previous episodes. If you like the show, tell your friends. Someone Knows Something is hosted, written, and produced by David Ridgen.

The show is also produced by Ashley Walters, Sandra Bartlett, Steph Kampf, and executive producer Arif Noorani. The music is by Bob Wiseman. Vocals by Mary Margaret O'Hara and Jess Reimer. I will never stop my love, I will never sleep Something here is precious, memory I keep I will never stop my love, I will never sleep All I want's an answer for this mystery I leave Maybe one day we will all look out at the sun And know a light that shines through our love war

I will never stop my love, I will never sleep Something here is precious A memory I keep I will never, never stop my love I will never sleep All I want is

an answer for this mystery we keep Maybe one day we will all Look out on the sun And know a light that shines the truth on our lives Han har lagen I'm not a fool Ooh, ooh, ooh Ooh, ooh, ooh For more CBC Podcasts, go to cbc.ca slash podcasts.