Four Years Later

Terry’s disappearance continued to be “news” from time to time. These are excerpts from an article that appeared in the CBC news on December 22, 2005.

Christmas is a time for families to be together, but for one Moose Jaw family the season is a reminder that a family member is still missing.

Terry Sagal of Regina has been missing since a week before Christmas four years ago. …

"I'll never give up hope that that they'll find Terry or his remains," Mike Sagal said. "I just wish it would be done before my parents pass on because it would be nice for them to have closure."

Recently, the province announced that it would spend $2 million on a task force to work on missing persons cases.

Right now, four RCMP officers are dedicated to cold case files, but more officers will be added.

Sagal says that's good news and he hopes the extra officers will bring results.

"It never hurts to get new ideas," he said.

The 2008 Search

The following articles appeared in the news over six years later (included with permission from The Kipling Citizen).

Cold Case Unit to search Kennedy in missing person case

From The Kipling Citizen

May 16, 2008

The holiday season brings about much happiness for families. However, in December 2001, just a week before Christmas, one family experienced one of its worst fears. A beloved family member, Terry Sagal went missing. His family last saw him on December 18, 2001 in Regina. Two days later, his vehicle was found abandoned just south of Kennedy. Sagal left his family without any clue as to where he went or why.

Despite attempts by the Regina Police Service, Sagal’s case turned cold and now sits on a shelf in the Regina Police Service Cold Case Unit.

However, on May 24, members of the Regina Police Service with help from people trained in search and rescue, plan to spread out over the Kennedy area in hopes of finding information regarding Sagal’s mysterious disappearance.

The Regina Police Service went out on previous search missions but failed to turn up anything that could lead them to Sagal’s whereabouts. “There was lots of snow that night [that they found his abandoned car], so there weren’t any tracks to follow,” said the Regina Police Service.

Search turns up nothing but old animal bones                   

From The Kipling Citizen

May 30, 2008

By Lizz Bottrell, Citizen Staff

A search for missing person Terry Sagal, whose car was discovered outside of Kennedy on December 20, 2001, turned up nothing but old animal bones. Though many findings seemed promising at first sight, all were quickly dismissed as animal bones. “We found lots of animal bones, but no human remains,” said Sergeant Brent Shannon, a member of the Regina Police Service Cold Case Unit spearheading the search.

The Cold Case Unit decided to conduct a search on May 24 in the Kennedy area due to optimal search conditions. The fact that most ground area remains uncovered from new spring growth and that many areas previously covered in water dried up, this time of year made for perfect search conditions. However, despite high hopes that Sagal’s remains would turn up on this search, he is still a missing person.

“We’ve now completed a very thorough search of the area in each direction of where the car was found,” said Sgt Shannon. “In order to go back to the area, new information would have to come forward.” The most recent search marks the fourth time Regina Police made the trek out to Kennedy to look for Sagal. When Sagal’s car originally turned up in the area, it snowed a lot overnight, covering up any trace of Sagal. The person who discovered Sagal’s car followed his tracks north to an intersection, but by the time RCMP attended to the scene, snow plows came by and washed away any further tracks Sagal may have left behind.

For this fourth search, about 20 trained search and rescue personnel came to Kennedy to conduct a thorough search in hopes of finding Sagal’s remains. The trained search and rescuers came from Regina, Estevan, and Carry the Kettle [Nakoda First Nation] and ranged from first timers to those who’d been out on half a dozen searches.

John Bradley, an Emergency Social Services Director for the City of Regina, orientated search and rescuers quickly before everyone began as to what exactly they were hoping to find. “We’re looking for human remains,” said Bradley. “We’re looking for bones that are finer and bleached white. He was wearing a leather jacket that may have survived as well as glasses.”

The search area included the areas surrounding four roads leading away from the intersection where Sagal’s footprints were allegedly last seen. Everyone split into teams of four to conduct what is called a Type Two search. “A Type Two search is wider spacing,” said Bob MacKay, team leader for Alpha Team. “It’s purposeful wandering. You walk in a zigzag motion in your direction of traveling so you can cover more ground. This is opposed to a grid search where you search closer together.”

When everyone split up to follow their search routes, Sgt Shannon sent me off with Team Alpha in order to take in the whole experience of a search and rescue mission. For my first mission, I felt very excited and hopeful that Team Alpha would come across something promising.

Within two minutes out on our path, Lorraine Runns, a search a rescuer from Carry the Kettle, found a smaller bone which caused some excitement within the group. Runns called a halt to the line and MacKay came over to inspect the bone. After some time trying to determine the bone’s origin, he called in Bradley to take a further look. In the end, he determined the bone was too big to belong to Sagal, therefore, it belonged to an animal.

After the excitement, we continued on our way. I closely watched each person’s technique, hoping to gain an understanding as to how exactly they expected to spot such tiny bones in the grass. As I observed Runns diligently searching her area, her years of experience became very evident in the thorough way she searched, leaving no object unturned.

The whole experience was very quiet, which almost made me feel uncomfortable, however, at the same time, with no one talking, there were no distractions from the task at hand.

The group searched through bush and decaying cow-pies. The search area that’s now exposed to the harsh climate was once covered in many feet of snow the night Sagal went missing. As we trekked along, all I could think about was how long he could have possibly survived in all this cold and snowy weather so many years ago.

After speaking with Sgt Shannon earlier in the day, he informed me that Sagal may not have even come to the area in the first place. One may wonder then, where else Sagal may have ended up. Sgt Shannon has three theories. First of all, Sagal [might have] committed suicide in the area and in that case, chances of finding his remains were relatively high. Secondly, foul play could be involved and in that situation, the perpetrator may have just dumped Sagal’s car in the area, leaving Sagal somewhere completely different. Lastly, Sagal could have simply chosen to disappear. “Right now Terry could be sitting on a beach somewhere, reading the Kipling Citizen and laughing,” said Sgt Shannon.

The most exciting part to the day occurred just after 10 in the morning when rookie search and rescuer, Lynda Chamney from Estevan, found a jaw bone with a couple of intact teeth. As we continued to search the ground in the area, we found another dozen bones. When Constable Kelly Guider, with the Kipling RCMP, came to investigate the finding, he figured they were all just remains from a cow. He first identified that the molars came from a cow and went on to determine the origin of the remaining bones.

Before long, Regina paramedic, Ken Cardwell, showed up at the scene to give the final call on the bones. “This is a cow’s jawbone,” said Cardwell. “See, those are a carnivore’s teeth.”

And that was that, the end of the excitement.

The most unfortunate part about neglecting to turn up any human remains is the fact that Sagal’s disappearance still remains a mystery to his family. It’s just too bad that something, anything could not have been found to provide some sort of closure to a family that has clearly been suffering the uncertain loss of a loved one for over six years.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

I appreciate this article for the reason that it kept the story of Terry’s disappearance alive. It also showed that there was still a very real effort being made to solve the mystery, and it also showed sympathy to the family who still, to this day, has not had any closure.

But as I read it again, I am a little shocked at the insensitivity. The title alone, which refers to “nothing but old animal bones”, might have done a better service to the story if it had been something like, “Still no trace of Terence Sagal”. But I am not a newspaper editor, and I guess an editor wants something a little shocking so that readers will read the story. And we definitely wanted readers to be reminded of the event.

Sgt. Shannon’s third theory, the theory that Terry could have simply chosen to disappear, was also lacking in sensitivity. “Right now Terry could be sitting on a beach somewhere, reading the Kipling Citizen and laughing,” he says. What? Laughing? I don’t think so. If, for some unimaginable reason Terry had to run away from everyone who loved him, I don’t think he would be laughing to read about our continuing agony.

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Eight Years Later

The following excerpts from a CBC news article of October 13, 2009 contain quotes from my brother Mike. They show the pain he was going through.

 

Regina police distributed a missing person notice about Terry Sagal, who's been missing since Dec. 18, 2001. (Regina Police Service) Almost eight years after Terry Sagal left his Regina home for what was supposed to be a brief shopping trip, the mystery of his disappearance continues to baffle police and his family.

Did someone kill the 54-year-old husband and father? Or did he simply take off with the plan of starting a new life elsewhere? No one knows for sure.

Although police say no hard evidence has been found to suggest foul play, there are some relatives, including his brother Mike Sagal, who believe otherwise.

"I think he was murdered in Regina for the vehicle and thrown in a dumpster," Mike said. "A few of my family members believe the same thing."

The events of the last day he was seen shed little light on the mystery. …

Sagal is now one of 33 cold cases being investigated by the Regina Police Service.

Sgt. Brent Shannon, the lead officer on the case, said investigators have explored several avenues, including foul play and suicide.

Police are also looking at the possibility that Sagal chose to disappear.

"Certainly, when you're comparing his case to some of the other long-term cases, [it's] much more plausible," Shannon said.

"I think because of his intelligence, his experience, his background, his ability to pick up and start over would far exceed that of maybe some of the other folks that we would compare against."

However, Mike Sagal said what he knows about his brother and the events of December 2001 suggest foul play is more likely.

The fact the car was found far from Regina is significant, he said. Shortly before he disappeared, Terry told family he couldn't drive to Moose Jaw for his sister's birthday because he was worried his car wouldn't make it.

Terry always had his car radio set to CBC, but when the car was found, it had been switched to another station, he said.

Before he disappeared, Terry had been working as a musician and an actor, doing locally produced commercials and performing with the Regina Little Theatre, Mike said.

He liked cooking, gardening and music and although not living a conventional 9-to-5 life, he was a creature of habit. For him to just take off doesn't make sense, Mike said.

Instead, he wonders if someone out there is carrying a heavy secret.

He said he'd like answers, but as a parent, he's been forced to focus on his own family and move on.

"I've actually found its best not to think about it because it gets frustrating at times," he said.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Nine Years Later

Using Social Media
 

In 2010, Terry’s daughter Ajineen decided to post Terry’s “Missing” poster on Facebook, with the hopes of getting some clues about Terry’s disappearance. Every year since then, Ajineen has re-posted her plea, and countless friends have shared the request. In 2010, her efforts made the news. The following are excerpts from a Regina Leader-Post article of December 20, 2010.

Nine years after her father's unsolved disappearance, Ajineen Sagal desperately wants to be able to update her Facebook status to say, "I finally know what happened to him."

On Friday night, Ajineen posted her dad's Missing poster on her Facebook profile picture.

"I have over 600 friends on Facebook. Perhaps if they all were to post a picture of my dad, somebody somewhere might know something and be able to help find him or clues to his whereabouts," she said in a telephone interview Saturday. "After all, isn't that the point of Facebook ... to network? Well, this is my way of reaching hundreds and maybe thousands of people that perhaps did not even know about the disappearance beforehand."

Her dad, Terry Sagal, has been missing since Dec. 18, 2001. …

Ajineen was in Vancouver, acting, when she was notified that her father had vanished.

"It was the day after closing night that I found out he disappeared," she said. "I had spoken to him two days before that. We talked a lot, because I'm an only child and my dad homeschooled me for six years while my mom was working as a teacher. My dad was amazing at so many things ... He was a huge part of my life."

She said the hardest part is not knowing why he disappeared.

"You go through the scenarios -- either he went away somewhere and he's alive, he went away somewhere and he's dead, he died of natural causes, he committed suicide, or he was killed," Ajineen said.

"None of them make sense."

As the mother of a one-year-old son, she can't fathom the pain her grandparents endured over the years and is sad that her grandfather died this past summer without knowing his son's fate.

"I wish we'd find out for everyone," Ajineen said.

Ron Sagal, Terry's brother, said nine years is a long time to have no answers.

"As the years go on, other things in your life take a larger part of your conscious mind and it becomes part of your subconscious," said the Regina man. "There's still times when you're driving and you see someone who looks like him and your immediate thought is, 'Is that him?' "

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Fifteen Years Later

Some Answers from the Cold Squad

 

When I started writing "When Terry Went Missing", I decided to contact the Cold Squad in Regina to get some clarity on a few matters. They were helpful to an extent, but they took a very long time in responding and they didn’t have answers for all of my questions.

 

Excerpts from Email from the Regina Cold Squad:

 

Re: Terence Sagal

From: Yum, Alex (No subject)

2016-07-13

You can unsubscribe

This message is from a trusted sender. |

You replied on 2016-08-04 7:55 PM.

Hello Loretta,

I hope all is well with you and thank you for your patience on this matter.

In answer to your questions:

Did the Regina Police conduct a search within the city?

From my review of the reports a search of the city was done in an attempt to confirm the places Terence had stated he would be attending to prior to leaving his residence the morning of December 18, 2001 – gas station to purchase fuel, convenience store to buy chocolate, liquor store, and grocery store to buy ingredients for a cake.

Though Terence’s vehicle wasn’t recovered by police until December 20, 2001 it was observed abandoned in rural Saskatchewan the afternoon of December 18, 2001.

 

Did the Regina Police search Terry’s home?

Nothing in the reports I read stated whether or not there was a search of Terence’s home

Can we get a summary of the meeting I and my husband had with RPS on December 23?

I cannot find a report which documents this meeting.

Best Regards,

Alex

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I had sent my questions to the Cold Squad, I had mostly wanted to know how easy it is for a person to voluntarily go missing. They didn’t answer that question, but there is useful information available on the internet from the Canadian Centre for Information on Missing Adults:

It is not a crime for an adult to go missing.

It is not a crime for an adult to sever all contacts and voluntarily walk away from her/his life to start over elsewhere. As a result, police have the difficult job of balancing the missing adult’s right to privacy with finding out the reasons for the disappearance.

In some cases, the person no longer wishes to remain in contact with her/his loved ones. When this happens, police have to respect the missing person’s decision. In most cases, the searching family is notified that the missing person has been located but no further details are shared without the missing person’s consent.

So if Terry did go missing voluntarily, someone would have been informed. As far as I know, no one in our family has been informed.

 

Regina Crime Statistics

 

“Although police say no hard evidence has been found to suggest foul play, there are some relatives, including his brother Mike Sagal, who believe otherwise.” (from a news article)

There is a sound reason for thinking that Terry’s disappearance is a result of foul play. Terry lived in one of Canada’s most dangerous cities, statistically speaking.

Here are excerpts from Statistics Canada for the year 2000:

Saskatchewan's crime rate of 12,730 criminal incidents for every 100,000 population was the highest among the provinces for a third consecutive year, followed by British Columbia (11,253) and Manitoba (10,723). Newfoundland continued to have the lowest crime rate (5,711), followed by Quebec (6,027).

Manitoba (2.6 per 100,000) and Saskatchewan (2.5) reported the highest provincial homicide rates.

Among the 25 census metropolitan areas, the highest overall crime rates in 2000 were reported in Regina, Saskatoon, Vancouver, Victoria and Winnipeg.

Despite a 7% decline, Regina reported the highest violent crime rate for a second consecutive year, followed by Saskatoon and Thunder Bay.

Regina (3.5 homicides per 100,000) and Saskatoon (3.0) also reported the highest homicide rates, followed by Trois-Rivières (2.8) and Chicoutimi-Jonquière (2.8).

 

The following excerpt is from a 2009 Maclean’s magazine article:

Saskatoon has the highest crime ranking in the Maclean’s survey, 163 per cent above the national average. Winnipeg ranks second with a crime score 153 per cent above average while Regina finishes third at 136 per cent. The same cities were in a virtual three-way tie last year for the worst crime score.

The three cities share several things in common: much of the crime is rooted in poor, inner-city cores and targets its most vulnerable citizens. There is a large gang presence feeding off the drug trade and other illegal activities. Those areas also house a young transient population, with a low level of education, substandard housing and high levels of unemployment, broken homes, addictions and psychiatric issues—all risk factors for crime. They have proportionately the highest urban Aboriginal populations among major cities, about 10 per cent. This is a predominately young population, burdened with risk factors. “They are 10 times more likely to be victims and suspects,” says Neil Boyd, a criminologist at Simon Fraser University. “It’s basically a very tragic reality.”

 

The statistics haven’t improved much over the years. Here are the Canadian cities with the highest “Crime Severity Index” for recent years:

2018 top five cities with the highest CSI:

• Lethbridge (137).
• Regina (126.6).
• Winnipeg (119.4).
• Saskatoon (118).
• Kelowna (100.7).

2017 top five cities with the highest CSI:

• Saskatoon (115).
• Edmonton (112.3).
• Regina (111.9).
• Winnipeg (106.9).
• Kelowna (98.2).

While the statistics paint a grim picture, both my brothers who lived in Regina loved the city. Family members have attended the university there. We have gone there to see stage productions, to golf, shop, or dine out. As school kids, we would go there to visit the legislative buildings or one of the many museums. Regina is, after all, the province's capital city. But there are areas that you just shouldn’t go to. When Darrel and I were distributing the Missing posters around the city, the police were very emphatic about what areas we should not enter. We heeded their warnings.

Their warnings also served to validate my belief that Terry was the victim of foul play.

Last Chapter

Ambiguous loss

The type of loss experienced when someone disappears is very different to other types of loss that an individual may experience in their life (for example, the death of a loved one). This is because there is often a feeling of finality when a death occurs, as it is often known what has happened to the person. The term often used to describe this unique type of loss, when someone is missing, is ambiguous loss. Dr. Pauline Boss developed this term in the 1970s when she began working with families of soldiers missing in action. She has summarized ambiguous loss as: Where a loved one disappears in body or mind. She further defines ambiguous loss as: The most stressful type of loss; a type of loss that lacks answers, is unclear, indeterminate and often goes unacknowledged.  

Besides “ambiguous loss”, there is “unimaginable loss”. The tragedy of a parent losing a child is certainly unimaginable. My parents lived long enough to experience the suicide of their youngest son, the disappearance of their eldest son, and to hear the news that two other sons were dying from a lung disease which they inherited from my parents. Somehow my parents found the strength to continue on, to enjoy their growing tribe of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and to face their own deaths with dignity. I am in awe of them.

What to do when someone goes missing

 

Nowadays, nearly twenty years after my brother’s disappearance, the amount of information available to us is phenomenal. With just a few keystrokes on my computer, I can get scads of advice on what to do when someone goes missing. For example, Wikihow has a comprehensive action list, starting with “Contact the police as soon as you have reason to worry”. The list also cautions you to understand "the limits of what the police can do, especially if the missing person is an adult. It is not illegal for a person to go missing".

Today we have social media to help us out too. As I mentioned earlier, Terry's daughter Ajineen puts Terry's Missing poster on her Facebook page, and we all continue to hope that, someday, someone will have an answer for us.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My agony over Terry's disappearance continues to this day, but it has helped tremendously to write about it. Again, I would like to thank all of you who have been so compassionate and understanding over the years, and thank you for taking the time to read this tribute to Terry.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~ The End ~~~~~~~~~~~