Into Thin Air – Sherri McLaughlin | No arrests, no answers in Kamloops woman’s disappearance

“Sherri was working at the local Pizza Hut in Kamloops,” explains Kerr. “She had finished her shift around 1 or 2 in the morning. She had made plans with her boyfriend for that evening that when she was done with her shift she was going to ride her bicycle over to his place. Sherri had a young, infant son at the time that her parents were taking care of.”

She never showed up. Her damaged bike was found on the side of Parkcrest Avenue hours later, and a search had been launched, but Sherri was gone.

“Right from the beginning, there was a determination made that this is a suspicious case. Again, her bike was found in a manner of hours laying on the side of the road. The bike appeared to either have been hit by a vehicle or run over by a vehicle. Sherri wasn’t located at the scene where the bike was found,” says Kerr. “So again, that prompted a very quick, and a very involved response from the police.”

Sherri’s brother, James McLaughlin, says the incident has stuck with him every day since.

“When I got the call, it didn’t make sense. I didn’t believe it. I thought there had to be some logical explanation of what was going on,” says McLaughlin.

“And it probably wasn’t until I saw the news and how her story… I thought it was going to be some story at the end. ‘We can’t find her at the moment’, you know.”

Sherri’s case quickly garnered attention from local news outlets, and the community at large.

“There’s no handbook on what you’re supposed to do,” notes McLaughlin. “We made a lot of mistakes as far as even posters, trying to put out coloured posters at first. That gets expensive. Black and white, we started doing that and finally some people came forward and we started a volunteer group which really helped.”

This went on for years, then in 2009, Kamloops RCMP held a news conference.

“We did a media event where the family members got up and spoke, and I spoke. And I made a plea directly to the person I believe to be responsible to come forward in this case,” Kerr recalls.

The suspect had not been charged, so police didn’t publicly name him at the time. What they did say was RCMP forensics had linked the suspect’s car to evidence found along Parkcrest Avenue. Including paint chips that matched the bicycle McLaughlin had been riding, and a plastic deer whistle broken off a vehicle that was found at the scene.

“I actually had on display, the bike, and the various things that were found at the scene and just laid everything out for everyone to see. In particular, hopefully the person responsible would have also seen that,” says Kerr.

The McLaughlin family became aware of a suspect that was under investigation

“It’s someone that I believe is responsible for Sherri’s disappearance,” reiterates Kerr. “And that person, we have spoken to him. And again, that person has chosen not to provide information or not cooperate with the investigation. And to this day, that’s where that sits. Unfortunately.”

It was suspected that Daniel Dow, who was out on parole in Kamloops at the time of Sherri’s disappearance, could be involved. Daniel Dow had previous convictions for violent sexual assaults, and in 2009, he was labeled a dangerous offender for beating, and choking a woman, and threatening to kill her child in 1998. He has never confessed to McLaughlin’s murder, or been charged in relation to it.

“It was almost easier when we didn’t know anything. Simply because anything could have happened. There’s so many different possibilities,” explains McLaughlin. “But after the press conference we were kind of told a scenario and given a name. And after that it was, why aren’t they doing anything?”

James has pored over every detail, and document available, out of an intense feeling of obligation to get an answer. He’s even sent letters to the prison Dow is serving his sentence in.

“I’ve been told that I’m not allowed to speak to him and my letters have been returned to me. I don’t know what to do next,” he says.

In a city of roughly 100,000 people, Sherri’s case has circulated in the rumour mill, and many of those theories have caught the ear of her family.

“There’s been lots of theories,” McLaughlin explains. “We’ve had so many psychics kind of give us their story about what’s happened. I’ve had people leave graffiti at my house with a picture of Sherri’s poster and a feather drawn across her face.”

Without some form of closure, James says he hasn’t been able to move on with his life.

“Any time remains are found, your heart just turns into knots,” says McLaughlin. “And you don’t know what to do, what to think until you finally get some answers.”

For the young woman’s family, friends, and community members who have followed the case for decades, getting some form of answer is the number one priority.

“I believe there is someone else that does have information,” states Kerr. “But again, it’s a matter of will that person ever come forward if in fact they have information. I don’t know. It’s been a lot of years since Sherri went missing, so.”

“If there is someone out there that has information, please pick up the phone, go through CrimeStoppers, go through legal counsel, whatever,” he reiterates. “But again, if you have information, please contact the Kamloops RCMP.”

“I desperately ask for help. Anybody who might be able to help in some way. I feel like this is my last chance,” stresses McLaughlin.

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To anonymously report a crime or submit a tip, Kamloops, Crime Stoppers can be reached at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Tips can also be submitted anonymously through the BC Crime Stoppers website.

by Dylana Kneeshaw

Into Thin Air – Sherri McLaughlin | No arrests, no answers in Kamloops woman’s disappearance

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