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Cold case in qathet region still on people's radar

Death caught the attention of true-crime author/podcaster
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UNSOLVED CASE: The body of Elizabeth Gardner was found under the Lois River Bridge 48 years ago. The case was never solved. Heather Ede, a friend of Elizabeth, always wondered what happened and has been actively investigating her friend's death. The cold case also caught the interest of true-crime writer and podcaster Eve Lazarus.

It's been 48 years since the untimely death of 14-year-old Elizabeth (Lizzie) Gardner. Her body was found under the Lois River Bridge in 1976, south of Powell River, but the case was never solved and went cold.

Heather Ede was a friend of Elizabeth's at the time and wondered for decades what had happened.

"I would say, within the last year and a half or so, I've been trying to gather information,” said Ede, in a conversation with the Peak. “It's a big question, even with the RCMP, is how did [Elizabeth] end up south of town. I also filed an ATIP [Access to Information and Privacy] with the RCMP in 2022."

Ede discovered to her astonishment that the case was listed as an unsolved, first-degree murder, and is still under investigation. 

"We were told at the time not to talk about the incident," said Ede. "There was speculation that she jumped or that it was suicide, but I don't believe she would have jumped."

Ede contacted true-crime writer Eve Lazarus, who has published the books Cold Case Vancouver and Cold Case BC. Lazarus has included the cold case of Elizabeth Gardner on her blog called Every Place Has a Story. The cold case will also be heard and discussed on Lazarus' podcast series later this summer.

Ede is hoping to regenerate public interest in the qathet region regarding the death of her friend. Since the blog posting went up, she has received many emails and messages from people who knew about the Gardner case, and/or who were living in the qathet region at the time.

"I told Eve, I thought she was hanging out under the bridge with a bunch of people,” said Ede, “and maybe got into a fight and someone shoved her.”

Ede said Elizabeth's case had been reopened in 2012 after RCMP received a tip, but that since then, she believes no one has continued the investigation.

"This case really intrigued me because it was a bit different," said Lazarus. "Heather always thought her friend's death was an accident but it turns out it was most likely murder."

Lazarus also said the case has many strange twists and turns. Looking at old newspaper clippings of the incident, Lazarus said [investigators] were treating Elizabeth's death as suspicious, initially, but then in 1983, January 10, there's a notation on the death certificate.

"It says 'cause suicide,' which is really strange," said Lazarus. "How did they [investigators] go from homicide to suicide?"

Lazarus said it must have been shocking to Ede to have found out her friend was murdered after all this time.

“She was only 14 years old, so it's not like she had a lot of enemies," said Lazarus. "I want people like Heather to tell these stories, to keep them public. It can be really sad, because several years later this is still unsolved, and it's horrible, but at least there's some way of remembering them."

Ede believes Gardner was taking the bus on Marine Avenue to visit her boyfriend Denis in Wildwood, which is the opposite direction from Lang Bay, where she was found dead. 

To read more about the Elizabeth Gardner 1976 cold case, go to evelazarus.com/the-1976-murder-of-elizabeth-gardner.

Anyone with information about the night Gardner went missing, or her murder, is asked to contact Powell River RCMP at 604.485.6255. To remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers 1.800.222.8477 or go online to bccrimestoppers.com.

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