On January 20, 1983, six-year-old Tania Murrell vanished on her way home from an elementary school in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Hundreds of searchers — police, volunteers and friends and relatives of Tania — looked high and wide for the child. But there was absolutely no trace of her. No clothing, school books … or phone calls. Nothing. Zip.

And no witnesses.

It’s as though Tania had vanished into thin air. One moment, she’s standing on a sidewalk; next moment, she’s gone.

What … happened??

The child’s disappearance smells of foul play. Police believe the grade-one student was abducted and murdered.

But by whom? And why on earth would anyone do something so cruel? A heavy-drinking acquaintance of the family would morph from suspect to prime suspect. The man never faced criminal charges because while detectives felt they had enough evidence for a murder charge, they also felt they might not get a conviction.

The book reveals the identity of the prime suspect. It also reveals what happened to him — as well as what happened to the missing child’s mother, father … and brother.

At around 11 in the morning on January 20th, a bundled-up Tania Murrell said goodbye to her grade-one friends and walked out of Grovenor Elementary School, in the west end of Edmonton.

The child was on her way home for lunch, and she didn’t have far to go. Her home — a small, rented bungalow at 10426 – 145 Street — was only a block and a half away.

At the house, the child’s aunt, Vera Stortz, was preparing a hot meal for Tania and John, Tania’s younger brother.

John Murrell was in kindergarten at the same school. That morning, he got out of class expecting to see his big sister waiting for him outside. The two would walk home together, like they always did. But on that fateful day, sis was nowhere to be seen. It appeared as though Tania had left without her brother … and so John walked home on his own. 

The children’s mother, Vivian, worked at a bakery, about a mile distant. Her husband, Jack, was a carpenter. He built new houses for Alldritt Homes on Edmonton’s south side.

Some have described Jack and Vivian Murrell as par- ty-hard folk who loved their booze, pot, rock music and Harley-Davidson motorbikes. They were — as a family acquaintance gently put it — “everyone’s-our-friend-people.”

But to most, Jack and Vivian were simply two young parents whose hearts were ripped out when their child vanished, never to be seen again.Vivian’s closest friend, Heather Hansen, describes Tania as a ‘very happy kid.’ “Anyone would have loved to have her as a daughter,” she says. “Tania was an absolute dream of a child, quiet and content. She always wanted a hug and a kiss when I left the house.”

“Tania loved to dance,” Hansen recalls, “… to have fun with her Barbie dolls — and play in the sandbox in the backyard.”

Heather’s daughter and Tania spent hours in that sandbox, laughing and talking about the strangest things, like what are you going to be when you grow up? 

After Tania was a no-show for lunch, Vera got on the blower to Vivian at work. Right off the bat, mom didn’t have a good feeling. It was unusual for her daughter not to head straight home from school.

Things just weren’t adding up and Vivian began to worry. She hoped that Tania had slipped away to a friend’s house — but a mother’s intuition told her other- wise. A distraught Vivian sped home. When she got there, she learned that Vera had been looking for Tania on the streets and calling out her name.

Jack also made a bee line for home. Same thing. His gut signalled something was terribly wrong …

CHAPTER 2

HOPE FADES

When Vivian dropped around to her daughter’s school, she got some dreadful news. Tania hadn’t made it back to class. Her seat remained empty.

And there was more grim news: not only had Tania’s classmates not seen her, no one had.

Tania would surely be home after school, well-mean- ing friends assured the parents.

With the worst yet to come, Vivian and Jack were already paralyzed with fear. They didn’t know what to do or where to turn.

Things became even more worrisome when Tania failed to show up at the house that evening. Where the hell was she?? Every time the back door opened, hopes were raised that Tania made it home safely.

Vivian and Jack tried to remain positive — but there were just too many red flags. Their last, faint hope was that their daughter had spent the night at a friend’s house and forgot to tell her parents.

Having an unannounced sleepover was so unlike Tania — but in the midst of the worst crisis in their lives, how the parents wished that actually happened. Alas, there had been no sleepover …

When Tania failed to show up for class next morn- ing, the alarm bells really went off. There was now little doubt that something terrible had happened.

For the parents, the situation was now beyond worrisome. It was gut-wrenching dreadful.

Detectives initially didn’t know what to make of the child’s disappearance — and neither did most reporters, myself included. I was working for CBC Radio News when police fired off an alert about a missing child.

At that point, it was barely a story. Next morning, reporter Ruth Anderson was about to head out the door to cover the mysterious disappearance. I was on the assignment desk and asked Ruth to hold off until school started. She agreed.

My thinking was that it made no sense getting worked up over a youngster who may have spent the night at a friend’s house.

I was wrong. Vivian was right. The mother had been telling friends she had a gut feeling something awful had happened.

The media coverage swung into high gear. The story of a missing child was leading every newscast in the city, and it would stay like that for weeks. Both parents were now trembling and no amount of beer was going to calm their nerves. Afraid that somebody would recognize him from the newspapers and TV, Jack shaved off his beard. Paranoia was seeping in.

Rumours circulated that the father — a biker, though not a gang member — owed a small-time drug dealer hundreds of dollars for some marijuana he bought.

Perhaps Jack owed someone money — perhaps he didn’t — but it’s my belief his daughter’s disappearance had nothing to do with an unpaid debt.

Vivian began second-guessing herself. She kept ask- ing ‘what if?’ What if I didn’t have to work that day? … what if Vera had gone to pick the kids up from school? What if …? What if …? What if …

She and her husband weren’t the only ones afraid. Everyone in the city of more than half a million was now very worried — because they could relate. Parents were thinking, ‘There but for the grace of God …’ while young children were terrified a stranger was going to take them away.

Like a stone tossed into a pond, that fear radiated throughout Edmonton, the province and the country. Where was Tania? Was she safe? Was she even alive? Everyone had theories, but no one really knew.

Detectives were inundated with tips … but few turned out to be significant. According to police, their ground search was by far the largest in Edmonton’s history. Hundreds of city blocks were checked. Soon after Tania vanished, so did Harley, her black dog. Foul play was not suspected; it was just one of those things. Even so, it was another hit for the family.

People hoped to hear ‘breaking news’ Tania had been found safe and sound and that she’d been reunited with her grateful parents.

What a joyful ending that would have been. Alas, nothing like that happened.