After car found, RCMP rule no foul play in N.S. woman's 1999 disappearance
After sifting through the submerged wreckage of a car found close to a popular Nova Scotia beach, investigators have determined that a woman reported missing 22 years ago did not die due to foul play.
"We don't believe anyone else had any role in the vehicle going into the water and being found where we found it," RCMP Cpl. Troy Murray told CBC News.
Arlene McLean was last seen in Eastern Passage, N.S., when she left her home in the family car the evening of Sept. 8, 1999. Though her common-law husband and son thought she'd be returning soon, no one saw her again.
During the initial investigation, police considered the circumstances of her disappearance suspicious. The province later offered a reward of up to $150,000 for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible for her disappearance.
At the time, investigators interviewed friends and family and canvassed the area, in addition to following up on any tips, Murray said.
The case was still considered open in fall 2020 when RCMP investigators finally got a break during an unrelated search near Rainbow Haven beach, about seven kilometres from Eastern Passage.
They discovered not one but two cars underwater off a small bridge at the end of Cow Bay Road. The dive team examined the first and found it wasn't connected to McLean's case.
Divers returned in the spring to try to find out more about the second. They uncovered a licence plate and were able to confirm it was McLean's 1993 green four-door Hyundai Elantra.
But examining the car proved challenging as two open windows meant a layer of silt had settled through the vehicle. Sgt. Mark Bishop, speaking in an RCMP video, said visibility was poor and divers had to scoop up mud by hand.
Eventually police confirmed a body was inside. In the summer, RCMP contacted McLean's family and announced they were working with the medical examiner's office to identify who it was. At the time, police did not say where they'd found the car. The confirmation that it was McLean followed in September.
RCMP also used a crane to hoist the vehicle out of the water to examine it on land.
The passage of time, though, made it "extremely difficult" to determine the sequence of events and why McLean's car went off the road, Murray said.
He wouldn't say exactly what police believe happened beyond that examining the car, its location and things found inside it led them to close the case.
"It was actually key observations with the vehicle that led us to determine the vehicle had left the roadway and it was non-criminal," he said.
Murray, among the investigators assigned to the case, said being able to provide answers to McLean's family was "an emotional and rewarding experience."
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