Someone Knows Something - S1 Episode 9: What we know

Episode Date: April 24, 2016

The investigation pauses as the search divers wait for Holmes Lake to thaw. In the meantime, SKS revisits the people, information and new leads that have been uncovered in the case so far. 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

Turn off hesitation. Turn off doubt. Turn off fears. The YMCA helps you turn off whatever's holding you back, so you can let your potential shine. Through our wide range of programs and services, you can turn on confidence. Turn on connections.

Turn on possibilities. Visit our website to see what you can achieve at the YMCA. This will be the day. This is a CBC Podcast. The ice is still melting on Holmes Lake, and like you, we're waiting to find out what, if anything, might be revealed there. But while we wait, you should re-listen to some of the people we spoke to in examining Adrian's disappearance over 40 years ago.

There might be something you missed. You may hear something that strikes you differently or leads you down another path. So listen carefully. This is where we've been and where we might be going. He was our child, and he was a handsome little boy. Big brown eyes and the blonde hair, he was just beautiful.

Murray used to call him his little, his pal and he'd get up beside Murray and you know. And I'd say, you back again? And his hair was white. I was so young at the time that I don't really recall a whole lot other than we were all out fishing. I went around the shoreline to a rock and I think Lisa and Adrian and one of the other kids came with me and we fished there for a while and there was nothing going on so we went back and Adrian decided he wanted to play with his line so he kept pulling his line in a little bit and a little bit and finally he got tangled up in the tree. So Murray told him just go and sit down and he would get it untangled for him. So he must have got bored with the fishing and he got back just behind me

on the rock and he was playing there. And he just disappeared. Well we started calling them. Calling and waiting and listening for an answer and we never got any answer. So I said, well, maybe we better get some help. So when you left, which way did you turn? You know, you can go both ways on that. Do you remember if you went out toward Calabogie or if you went out toward Black Donald on that road? When I left, I went out to Highway 508 and turned left and went down to Calabogie.

The military was there, you know, we lifted every rosebush, we looked up every tree, we looked at everything. I was a district diver. So you did all three lakes, and you did them a number, at least how many times would you say you searched them? Holmes' Lake for sure, at least twice. Actually, we saw quite a few dead trout on the bottom. The lake was going dead at that time, you know. Seems to me maybe one end of the lake might have been a little more swampy or something or weedy. And you were the only dive team doing

this? Yeah. I was out 24 hours looking. I mean, by the time I got there, there was no way to trail the kid. It was just walk to death. Anything rough, everybody goes around it. You could hide a car in there. Anyway, that's how it was done. And so I came home and thinking, well this is hopeless. It was just wild, rough country. And there was nothing ever found. Not a jacket, not a shoe, not a shoelace, nothing. It really upset me. I would like to know what happened to that little guy. And I think he went that way. What makes you think he went there? Well, it was over there next to little homes that Belly Feet saw these little tracks but it could have been some other kids fishing I don't know but it looked suspicious. The one theory that I think is most plausible to me is he was trotting along the roadway back to the camper or something and another fishing party or something came around the corner,

and a car ran over him. Everybody's saying, oh, a bear got him, a cougar got him, this, that, and the other thing. We would have heard them screaming or something if a bear had tackled them, or we would have heard the noise a bear would make, you know. Back in 72 in that area, would there be black bears near Mount St. Patrick in that area? There would be, definitely, yeah. Would they have heard a sound if a bear had attacked? Would they have found any remnants of a bear?

By all means, they would have, yeah. That's why I think somebody's involved in foul play. Because of no trace of clothes, no scent for the dogs, and whatever that kid was taking, as far as I'd be concerned. Do you ever remember any talk of a black and white car that was seen up at Holmes Lake? No. That was never part of the police discussion with you? They never asked you any questions?

I remember. And you, of course, never saw a black and white car up there or any other car other than yours. I don't think so, no. Well, we talked about that car. It was a black and white. And I'm sure it was a 56 or 55 Dodge. We talked about it because it was such good shape

when we were fishing. And I don't know whose car it was such good shape when we were fishing. And I don't know whose car it was or anything else, but it was parked there. That car is still a strange car. It was never seen again. I had never seen that car around here before or after. And did the police ever tell you anything about whether they had found the owners of that car? No. There's other things that still run through my mind. Psychics gave us a bunch of stories.

There was three different ones. Well, there was one lady came from England. She told the whole story just about the way it was at Holmes Lake. She told the story that Adrian had walked away and there was a guy in there and he picked him up and that was somewhere around Clyde Forks. There was one fella and he could tell you exactly where water was without even going to the place. He tried that with Adrian and he said it kept going to Clyde Forks.

And there was another lady, she had also mentioned the same thing. It makes you kind of believe that maybe you should go to Clyde Forks. Turn off hesitation. Turn off doubt. Turn off fears. The YMCA helps you turn off whatever's holding you back, so you can let your potential shine. Through our wide range of programs and services,

you can turn on confidence, turn on connections, turn on possibilities. Visit our website to see what you can achieve at the YMCA. This will be the day. Are you sure you parked over here? Do you see it anywhere? I think it's back this way.

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I think somebody took him. I don't think he really got lost. Murray has said all along someone has him. He may have ended up with a family and had a great life. Murray has said all along, someone has him. He may have ended up with a family and had a great life. That's the one thing I think, will he have changed a lot and not is with a family, then I believe a picture is worth a thousand words as the saying goes. We're going to get three sketches. We're going to get a main sketch and then add three to that, so four I guess. Adrian with beard, Adrian with glasses, Adrian bald.

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 it's an investigative tool that is put out there and then people start talking. Clyde Forks and there's a few houses. What we'll do is we'll park and we'll just walk around and I can go up the doors and see if I can talk to some people here and see if they might have any idea or their memory might be jogged

by the sketches. Hey sir! Hello, how are you doing? We're looking for a guy who disappeared in 1972 and his name was Adrian McNaughton. I've heard that name. You've heard Adrian's name? Yeah. We had some psychics say that he disappeared and came to Clyde Forks. Well, you're in the right spot. So does the picture remind you of anybody here? Yes, it does.

I'm just trying to think who, who. If we just knew, I would pray that he wasn't abused or tortured or anything like that. Even if it was something like that, if we just knew. I feel like I was robbed. I don't have any memories of him.

Sorry. I do feel like I have a phantom sibling somewhere. There's another strand of possibility. His body is up there somewhere and the search simply missed him. That's actually probably my assumption this is a tree dad where he said he last saw him right here and adrian was standing right here said he didn't want to fish anymore and his dad said he took the rod from him and adrian walked up this hill here and disappeared appeared. This is a tremendous drop off right here. Look at that. Tremendous drop off. Right

down here. Well you see that's the lake there though dad. You're looking at the water there. Yeah that's it's actually so still that it looks like it looks like a bottomless pit. Is it possible that they missed them back in 1972 in the lake? I've been in situations where I lose a diver visually within a body length and he's got some of the brightest lights that you've ever seen and you lose sight of him five-year-old boy non-swimmer suddenly finds himself into deep water you would disappear without a sound and where would you start looking so what do you think about me commissioning a cadaver dog for example i think you'd have to have something miraculous happen to for a cadaver dog, for example. I think you'd have to have something miraculous happen for a cadaver dog to probably find his body.

Well, that's interesting. So what do you think? Uh, I'd love to have some divers come in. Three separate dogs, three identical reactions in exactly the same place. Holy fuck. So in case there's any doubt, it's all happening in the same spot.

Both Breeze and Grief got on one rock, the same rock, and stood facing straight out into the water. Something's happening here. We don't know exactly what. I've got an inch thickness worth of ice. To break this and actually do something productive is not worth it. So I wouldn't go in the water and I wouldn't send anybody else into the water today. This unfortunately, the search is going to wait until spring. But at least we can do a little bit of planning. So what do we do for the next three or four months? Well, we just think about it non-stop for the next three or four months

and come up and check out the lake every second weekend in March until it breaks up. So from here, the lake will open. And it may reveal its secrets. And if there's an ending or not, how will we know it? It may find us.