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My First Cold Case was Kathryn Mary Herbert, age 11 (almost 12) of Abbotsford, BC, 1975. This cold case, became the motive for me to focus on the Highway of Tears cold cases. The Herbert suspect was also the suspect in the 1976 Abbotsford Teen Theresa Hildebrandt cold case, as well as one of the Highway of Tears victims, Monica Jack (of Merritt, BC, 1978) cold case.
The Herbert/Hildebrandt/Jack suspect, Garry Taylor Handlen, was taken into custody near the end of November 2014, and was subsequently charged with homicide for Herbert and Jack. There was insufficient evidence to charge Handlen with the murder of Hildebrandt.
Unfortunately, the court dismissed the murder charge regarding Herbert, but Handlen was found guilty of murder in the Monica Jack case.
While I was reviewing the Herbert cold case, in 2012. I came across information that I believe assisted the RCMP in making the November 2014 arrest.
In the fall of 2014, I started my Highway of Tears Cold Case Project. This is a very tough project as it can be very difficult to find witnesses who would be willing to talk to me.
When I was initially reviewing the Herbert cold case, I never expected that this case would be the case that launched me into the Highway of Tears cold cases. Of course, I had no idea that the Herbert suspect would be connected to at least one Highway of Tears victim. Nor did I even imagine that my involvement in the Herbert cold case would land me smack dab in the middle of news interviews (newspapers, radio, and TV)!
I was very disappointed that the courts in Jan 2019 dismissed the murder charge related to Herbert, but was satisfied that Handlen was convicted of Highway of Tears Victim Monica Jack.