STEINBACH, Man. — RCMP have issued an appeal asking for the public's help in finding the remains of a 13-year-old boy who vanished in July 1978.
David Wiebe was last seen by his mother, riding away from his home in Steinbach, Man., on his bicycle.
In December 1994, RCMP arrested Wiebe’s friend Dale Goertzen when he was deported from the United States after serving 11 years in a Kansas prison for armed robbery.
Goertzen pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in David's death and has been serving a life sentence ever since.
However, David's remains have never been located and his siblings want to find them so he can be buried next to his parents.
The Mounties drew attention to the case Thursday to mark National Missing Children’s Day.
Sgt. Bobby Baker, head of the Missing and Exploited Persons Unit, told CTV News that Goertzen hasn’t exactly been uncooperative in the past, but more information is needed to nail down the whereabouts of the boy's remains.
“Investigations do not collect dust,” said Baker. “Our investigators look at some of the hardest cases, ones that have not been solved in decades, or cases involving some of the most vulnerable people in society. We do not give up. Even after 38 years, we are optimistic we will be able to locate David and provide some closure to his family.”
His older sister, Adel Shidel, recalled that David was supposed to come to a family barbecue that day but never showed up.
"Everybody was looking for him — the whole town, I swear, was looking for him,” she said.
Her mother and father have since passed away, but she said the family hasn't given up hope of finding David so he can be laid to rest.
“We’d like to have a piece of him back,” Shidel said. “I think it would give a little peace back."
