ESTEVAN - Gerry Alexander continues to hold out hope that someone will step forward regarding the death of his son Geoffrey seven years ago.
Geoffrey Alexander went missing on Nov. 12, 2015. His remains were discovered in a valley in west Estevan several weeks later on Dec. 21 of that year. He was 33 when he died.
The Estevan Police Service, which has described the death as “suspicious”, issued another request for information from the public last week as it continues its investigation.
Gerry Alexander said he and Geoffrey’s mother went to see the EPS two weeks ago for an update on the case. Gerry Alexander said nothing has changed since three years ago when his son’s death was publicly described as suspicious for the first time.
“They need more proof or evidence to bring somebody forth, but they don’t have enough evidence, and that’s what we’re after, is for people who hopefully know something [to step forward]. I feel in my heart that there are people who know something about Geoff’s death, and we need them to come forward so we can find out what happened to our son,” said Gerry.
Losing someone you love at a young age never leaves you, he said.
“Not knowing what happened to our son, how he got into the valley and what transpired, it eats away at you. You learn to live with it, but you never get over it,” said Gerry.
He hopes getting the case back into the media will create more awareness.
“It’s not right that we can’t find out what happened to our son,” said Gerry.
When Geoffrey went missing seven years ago, the family was actively searching for him. Posters were put up in Estevan and other communities around the province.
“There really wasn’t much set up in 2015 for the parents and the family to do [anything] or actually help. We were always constantly going back to the police and asking them ‘What should we do next?’” said Gerry.
Seven years is too long to wait to find out what happened the day his son died, he said.
The EPS issued a similar request for information three years ago.
“I think it’s important for us as investigators just to remind the public,” said Sgt. Trevor Roberts, a detective with the EPS's criminal investigations unit. “Sometimes they do have information on these cases. It could be new to them in their memory, and maybe they hadn’t thought of it in the past.
“But certainly there are sometimes also those circumstances where somebody has a piece of information that they feel is common knowledge or something that possibly could have been shared with police.”
Geoffrey Alexander’s age, and the circumstances of where he was found, gave the EPS grounds to treat the death as suspicious, Roberts said.
“This isn’t something that stands out that was … expected, or something somebody could have seen coming based on conditions on those lines,” said Roberts.
People might be concerned they are bombarding the police with information, Roberts said, or they don’t know if their tip is applicable. But he pointed out often those “tidbits” or “small pieces of information” are quite important to a case.
The EPS continues to receive calls about Geoffrey's case, he said, but they are sporadic, and the police want people to keep thinking about the case.
“If they have something new or different since they initially spoke to us, or have never even called with a piece of information that they think could be helpful, we just really want that reminder out there. Even though years have passed since this investigation began, it’s still very active, and any piece of information can be crucial to get us the big picture of what happened,” said Roberts.
It’s also timely to issue such an advisory around the anniversary of when he went missing.
“People’s mindset gets them back to that time of year, and sometimes that helps trigger a memory or some piece of information that they maybe think of now around the anniversary, that perhaps they wouldn’t at other times of year,” said Roberts.
They do see an increase in calls after a news release is issued, he said. The bulletin was placed on the Estevan Police Service’s website late on Nov. 7, and since that time, they have had an influx of calls.
“Sometimes there’s information that comes in and it’s very similar to the information we have received previous, but sometimes these are brand new avenues that have never been explored, so those are certainly a possibility with any information people share with us.”
Investigators are asking the public to provide information by calling EPS detectives at 306-634-8791 or 306-634-1505, or Crimes Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. They can also visit saskcrimestoppers.com or email AlexanderTips@estevanpolice.ca.
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