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The remains of Robin Douglas Goodwin were found November 3rd, 2007 near Vegreville, Alberta.

Goodwin was reported missing in January 2007. He was last seen in September 2006.

Case status is open and active.

On January 25th, 2007 Edmonton police asked the public's help in locating Robin Douglas Goodwin, a 45-year-old man last seen in mid-September 2006.

Goodwin was last seen at his place of work in Nisku on Friday, September 22nd, 2006. He didn't show up for work the following Monday. Described as reliable and hard-working, Goodwin gave no indication that he wanted to quit.

He had not made contact with his family in Saskatchewan since then, nor had anyone seen him in or around his residence in the Maple Ridge mobile home park in Edmonton.

Edmonton police were contacted when it was brought to the family's attention that Goodwin had not been seen in four months. There was no evidence to suggest foul play or that he had planned to disappear. Neither scenario was ruled out at the time.

Goodwin was described as 5-feet 8-inches tall, approximately 190 lbs with brown eyes and brown/grey hair. He was sporting a moustache the last time he was seen.

In December 2007, the Edmonton Sun brought the case of Robin Douglas Goodwin back into the media spotlight.

The newspaper reported that police believed the missing man was a victim of foul play but authorities held back from classifying the case as a homicide.

Louis Goodwin, Robyn's father, thinks his son was murdered.

"That's what I figure it is, or he would have phoned me by now," Louis told the Sun from his home in Naicam, Saskatchewan.

The article revealed a few details concerning Robin's financial dealings – matters that may have led to his death according to family members.

Working as a heavy-duty mechanic for several years in Nisku, the 45-year-old finished his last shift on Friday, September 22nd, 2006 and didn't show up for his shift the following Monday.

"He was there one day and he never showed up again," said his sister, Mary Matchett. "It's quite a mystery."

Louis described his son as a loner and a homebody who was never "the marrying type" and who "liked a little booze."

As far as theories went, Louis figured his son had money problems stemming from the purchase of the trailer and his habit of loaning money to friends.

After living for years in a rooming house, Goodwin bought a trailer at the Maple Ridge mobile home park in southeast Edmonton in the spring of 2006.

"I think he lost his shirt over it," Louis said, adding the "stupid trailer" needed several repairs.

Always a generous person who was willing to help others, Goodwin had also been lending money to friends.

Louis suspected that the friends may have turned on him when he tried to collect on the loans.

The lack of information on the case left him wondering if he'd ever find out what happened to his son.

"After this length of time, you just throw in the towel," Louis said.

The family later learned that Goodwin's Ford truck had been repossessed.

Matchett, a lawyer from Saskatoon, had her own ideas about what happened to her brother but due to the ongoing police investigation declined to speak about them. She also remained certain he wasn't a victim of homicide.

"It's so difficult for a family to believe that, and you keep expecting a phone call or he's just going to drive in the yard and he's going to have a lot of explaining to do. But when it goes on so long, you become very worried.

"He had a life that he enjoyed very much and he had a family that loves and misses him and wants him back," Mary said.

On November 3rd, 2007 Vegreville RCMP responded to a complaint of partial skeletal remains discovered in a wooded area approximately 25 kilometres west of Vegreville.

Investigators revealed little about the manner and cause of death of the person, and the medical examiner was said to be attempting to determine the identity and gender of the remains. There was no estimate as to how long the body had been in the area before being discovered.

On November 14th RCMP released several photographs of articles of clothing found near the body which may or may not be directly related to the discovery.

Pictured are a denim vest bearing a variety of badges (Canadian and American flags, several Apollo lunar mission badges, a 'KISS MY ASS' badge and other badges honouring the musical group) and a Side Street skateboard shoe (size 10, left, black in colour).

Larger versions of the images can be viewed here, here and here.

RCMP viewed the case as a suspicious death and investigators treated the matter as a homicide until circumstances would prove otherwise. The Vegreville detachment was assisted by officers from the Edmonton Serious Crimes unit and Forensic Identification Section.

Project KARE was advised, a practice in all cases of suspicious deaths and homicides, but weren't currently involved.

As the area where the body was found had been thoroughly searched and with only partial remains found, investigators believed the body may have been the subject of animal activity. Police did not discount that there may be another crime scene involved and the body had been disposed of at the location where it was found.

"This discovery was reported to police by an individual that happened upon items that appeared to be out of the normal given what would reasonably be present in wooded area," Cpl. Wayne A. Oakes said in a media release.

"Investigators are asking property owners, hunters, hikers, anyone in the general Vegreville/Lamont areas and elsewhere to contact authorities if you discover items that appear to be out of place, such as articles of clothing or possible human remains," he added.

Oakes said in cases like this information coming from the public plays a very significant role in the investigation.

"This is a very unique vest and someone hopefully will recognize it and will be willing to come forward," Oakes said. "This is all about doing the best job possible for this as yet unidentified soul and his/her family."

Those with information about the items pictured or circumstances surrounding the body were asked to contact Vegreville RCMP at 780-623-2223 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

Vegreville is approximately 90 kilometers east of Edmonton.

For more about the original discovery, see Human Remains Found Near Vegreville.

On June 24th, 2008 RCMP announced that the Vegreville remains were that of Robin Douglas Goodwin.

The RCMP Edmonton Serious Crimes Unit, after consultation with the Edmonton Police Service, have taken the lead role in the investigation.

"We're not releasing information on cause of death at this point in time in case this does turn out to be a homicide," said RCMP spokesperson Craig Albers. "We're not sure if that's what it is yet, but they are following it up as a suspicious death."

Albers added that investigators "haven't been able to determine exactly what happened to him."

“He could have been out just for a walk in the bush and fell, or had a heart attack,” Albers said. “Those types of things happen. Until there's anything else that provides that information, we’ve got to treat it as suspicious.”

The spokesman explained the initial delay in Goodwin being reported missing.

“He was a reliable employee, and didn’t show up to work one Monday,” Albers said. “That was unusual for him, but at that point, it didn't click in that maybe somebody should call police or family.”

Media spoke to Robin Goodwin's family as soon as the news of the identification was released.

"The family desperately wants to know what happened to him," his sister, Mary Matchett, said from her home in Saskatchewan. "Our family is just devastated by Robin's death."

The family held a memorial service for Goodwin in Humboldt, Saskatchewan on June 21st, just days before DNA analysis linked him to the Vegreville remains. Legion members played the Last Post.

"We've been praying for Robin's return and that he would be found. But not like this" Matchett said.

Goodwin, who would have turned 47 in February, had always kept in touch with family in Saskatchewan.

"He was pretty good about phone contact, and on holidays, birthdays, he'd come – and then nothing," she said.

Mary also confirmed that items found near her brother's remains – a denim vest covered in KISS and Apollo space flight patches – represented his many interests.

"He always wanted to be an astronaut," Mary said. "Paratrooper was as close as he got."

Goodwin also kept an extensive collection of memorabilia and records put out by the Gene Simmons-led band.

A longtime heavy duty mechanic in Nisku, Goodwin had trained as an airborne paratrooper with the Canadian military. He was stationed at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa in Ontario from 1986 until he returned to civilian life in 1988. He then moved west to work as a mechanic for a Saskatchewan trucking company.

He moved to Edmonton in 1990 and began working on heavier mining equipment. He eventually got on with Procon in Nisku, overhauling the company's mining equipment.

"He was a hard worker. He never missed work," general manager Dan Borchardt said, adding Goodwin was also private. "He didn't socialize a whole lot with anyone from work here."

Goodwin moved into a new trailer in the Maple Ridge mobile home park in southeast Edmonton in the spring of 2006. He was known to frequent the Airways Hotel in Nisku.

"He loved life. He was a hard-working, kind, generous, gentle man," Mary said.

The Goodwin case was the subject of a Crime Stoppers segment that aired in September 2007 on the first anniversary of his disappearance.

Those with information are asked to contact Vegreville RCMP at 780-623-2223, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or online at www.tipsubmit.com - a secure tip submission web site.

deadmonton 2007 - robin douglas goodwin