Just read this in the Edm journal
EDMONTON — Melanie Alix says she still looks into every face she meets on the sidewalk hoping to find her son Dylan, who disappeared after leaving his south Edmonton home nearly one year ago.
“If I see someone built like him or with the colour of his hair walking down the street, I’m looking, and that will never stop until we have answers,” Alix said from her home in Moose Jaw, S.K., Thursday. “I know in my heart something has happened to him. Whether it was an accident or foul play, he wouldn’t be away on his own will, I know that for a fact.”
Police say it’s unusual they still don’t have a clear idea of what happened to 21-year-old Dylan Koshman, who was last seen storming down a back alley after a fight with his cousins around 2 a.m. on Oct. 11, 2008. He was wearing only shoes, jeans and a dark T-shirt.
“At the present time there is no theory about what happened and this is why we’re soliciting the public’s help in this matter,” said Const. Jim Gurney, an investigator with the missing persons unit.
Police have no information about what happened to Koshman after he left his home. Police found his wallet in a neighbour’s yard, but there hasn’t been any activity on his bank account and no answer on his cellphone.
His girlfriend reported him missing on Oct. 15, 2008, when he didn’t show up for work. He had moved to Edmonton about six months before to work for an oil and gas contracting company.
“We can’t rule out foul play, but of course we can’t rule out an accident right now. We just don’t know. That’s why we’re asking for assistance,” Gurney said.
Family and friends have accompanied Alix on a number of trips to Edmonton and surrounding communities to put up posters, talk to people and search for her son. Police can only devote so many resources to finding Koshman, so she said she is counting on tips from the public to help find him.
“I just hope there is somebody out there who has any information that could help us find that peace that we need so badly,” she said.
“It’s been a year. People think the suffering’s lessened, but it hasn’t. My heart goes out to all people with missing family members because the feeling doesn’t ever go away.”
Missing persons unit investigator Const. Sean Jenkinson said new information and tips have slowed down as the year has progressed.
“We’ll speak to anyone that has information about him, especially with something like this that’s gone on so long. There may be someone out there we’re not aware of who knew him as an acquaintance and we’ll gladly speak to him,” Jenkinson said.
Koshman’s family is holding a candlelight vigil at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 11 on the southwest corner of 34th Avenue and Calgary Trail.
“I have to do everything in my power to bring him home, whether it’s the best circumstance, that’s he’s alive ... and the worst scenario, that he’s gone. I want to be able to bury him, grieve and have peace,” Alix said.
ciltan@thejournal.canwest.com© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal