ocky Mountain Outlook
Psychics unable to help in missing person search
By Dave Whitfield - Rocky Mountain Outlook
Published: January 29, 2009 10:00 AM
Updated: January 29, 2009 10:34 AM
After RCMP exhausted all avenues of investigation searching for a woman missing in October, a pair of psychics have offered their assistance, still to no avail.
M.L. (Mary Lynn) Baltzer, then 48, went missing Oct. 4 and hasn't appeared since. She was last seen at the intersection of Wolf and Bear Streets.
She is described as five foot five and 120 pounds, with blonde hair and brown eyes. When last seen, she was wearing a navy coat, yellow shirt, dark hat and dark backpack. She always wears earrings, an Edgehill School ring, a necklace with a Capricorn symbol, a watch and glasses. She has scars on her right knee and leg and a scar on her chest.
Baltzer was an employee at the Banff Springs for about 12 years and it was her absence from work that sparked a search by police.
"The Banff Springs reported her missing," said Cst. Natalie Rice. "It was not her normal behaviour; she wasn't one to miss work."
Baltzer had a private staff accommodation room at the Springs, which she did not return to after Oct. 4.
Once reported missing, RCMP embarked on a search for the woman, calling Baltzer's family and friends, then calling in wardens, including a search dog, for assistance.
Toward the end of October, a female psychic from Cochrane approached Rice to offer assistance. Once in Banff, her focus became the Tunnel Mountain area. In looking at a map of the area with wardens, said Rice, the woman zeroed in on the Tunnel area as a significant area.
"I was quite surprised," said Rice. "It had been an area of interest for us where we had searched, but looking at the map, which just showed elevations and geographic markers and no place names, she went right to the Tunnel area."
A helicopter then overflew the area and Warden Mike Henderson and his search dog Atar tried to search the area again. A large elk herd was in the area, though, said Rice, which made it difficult for the dog to search. And after the elk moved out, there was heavy snowfall and extreme cold weather to contend with.
Further searching revealed nothing. Henderson and Warden Lisa Paulson are the Parks personnel who helped with the searching.
Most recently, a male psychic from Nelson, B.C., a former Banff resident, offered his help and was in town, Jan. 16-18.
The psychic had heard about Baltzer's disappearance from a missing person's website. "He called us and offered to help," said Rice. "He talked with us and M.L.'s family in Nova Scotia.
"He also went to her room, which the Banff Springs has kept for her, to try and get more of a feeling for her. He read through some old journals of hers, talked with the wardens and he again pointed out Tunnel and the area around the Springs as being important, but he couldn't narrow it down."
In the end, the male psychic couldn't offer any new information, so the case remains open and will, said Rice, until Baltzer is found.
As things now stand, RCMP hope a spring thaw may reveal Baltzer's location.
Both psychics offered their assistance, said Rice, and were not compensated from RCMP funds. "When you have nothing else to work on, there's nothing to lose in trying something different.
"Both of the psychics have had success with this kind of thing, but not this time."
Anyone with information regarding Baltzer's disappearance can call the Banff RCMP detachment at 762-2228 or Crimestoppers at 1-8
Topic: Mary Lynn Baltzer | Missing | Banff (Oct. 5, 2008) (Read 1871 times)
