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THE INVESTIGATION
WEEK ONE Part 4(Continued): The Canadian Embassy
"Investigates"
As described in the previous pages, although a number
of people reported Dave Walker's mysterious disappearance in Siem Reap
Cambodia on Valentine's Day to
Canada Foreign Affairs
Department and the Canadian Embassy in Thailand, the
reports were not being taken seriously as they were not coming from
family members. A report was first 'officially' accepted
by Canada's Foreign Affairs Department in the late afternoon of Monday,
February 17, 2014 when Dave's cousin Tammy Madon contacted them at my
urging. By then it was early Tuesday morning in Cambodia, and nothing so
far had been done. Richard Ehrlich ensured that Dave's disappearance was
reported in the Cambodian and Thai media on Wednesday, February 19 while
I ensured that Canadian media picked up and ran the story on the same
day in North America. (Ottawa and Toronto are 12 hours behind Cambodia
during Daylight Saving Time.)
No Canadian Embassy In Cambodia
In a cost-saving measure Canada had closed its
Embassy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in 2009, relegating routine
representation of Canadians to the Australian Embassy. (See
Toronto Star) Urgent or diplomatic Canadian representation
in Cambodia was handled by the Canadian Embassy next door in Bangkok,
Thailand, about 400 kilometers away--a six hour drive or just under
an hour by air.
On Thursday, February 20 we finally received a response from
the Canadian Embassy in Bangkok. It sounded very hopeful and somewhere I
remember happily writing in an e-mail "the cavalry is on the way." Tammy
e-mailed me that she had been told by Foreign Affairs,
"...the Foreign Affairs Minister and colleagues will
be deployed to Cambodia with Immigration Police. They also approached a
Private Investigator and Canadian Officials. All these people will
arrive in Cambodia on Saturday. They will search the hotel Dave was at
and will interview Sonny and the hotel staff. As well they will check
the hospitals. I did indicate we were concerned about Sonny. He stated
it will be an International Investigation. And there will be further
updates from the RCMP." (Madon to Vronsky, E-mail, Feb. 20, 2014)
[Tammy probably meant "consul" not "minister"]
The next day I issued the following update. In hindsight it was pathetically naive
and optimistic.
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UPDATE 1: DAVE WALKER DISAPPEARANCE
From Peter Vronsky
xxxx@xxxxxxx.xxx (Tel:
XXXXXXXX)
Friday Feb. 21, 2014 (1:00 PM EST)
Canadian Embassy in Bangkok has dispatched Ms. Allison Catmur
Second Secretary and Vice Consul Embassy of Canada to Siem Reap
in Cambodia to investigate Dave Walker’s disappearance. Ms.
Catmur should be currently on the scene.
Vice-Consul Allison Catmur (Bangkok Embassy)
Allison.catmur@International.gc.ca
Allison Catmur's mobile phone: (66) 81 831 3502
(UNCONFIRMED) It is believed that the RCMP will be leading the
investigation now underway and that the Embassy might be
retaining a private investigator to assist. (Unconfirmed.)
Dave Walker’s laptop and other belongings had remained in
possession of the hotel for the last eight days. The hotel
management has treated Dave Walker’s long-term rented room as
being currently held by him pending his return to it and while
not treating it as a “crime scene”, the hotel did not allow
anyone, as one source said, “to mess with Dave’s stuff.” At
least one of Dave Walker’s friends, however, was able to
persuade the hotel to let them visit the room in the ensuing
days and reports that the laptop and Walker’s things were still
there as reported. They stated that Dave Walker’s wallet and ATM
card do not appear to be in the room.
Dave Walker’s cell phone was turned over by the hotel to his
business partner Sonny Chhoun shortly after his disappearance
and is in his custody pending the arrival of the Canadian Vice
Consul in Siem Reap.
Questions are being asked why it has taken eight days for Dave
Walker’s hotel room possessions to be taken into custody by
authorities and why the room had not been sealed as a crime
scene.
The Canadian Ambassador to Thailand, was scheduled to brief Dave
Walker’s family at 2:00 AM this morning Edmonton time. Family
contact number below.
Regards,
Peter Vronsky
www.petervronsky.org
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Foreign Affairs Department Contact in Ottawa:
Jean-François Parizeau
Consular Case Management Officer - Case Management Division
Telephone 613-944-3307
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The visit to Siem Reap by Canadian
Vice-Consul Allison Catmur from the Bangkok Embassy
As Dave's business partner Sonny Chhoun had us chasing Salao Mao the weekend of February 22-23,
Canadian Vice-Consul Allison Catmur from the Bangkok Embassy arrived in
Siem Reap. There were no "private investigators" retained by the
Embassy and despite there being perhaps as many as several RCMP officers
stationed in Bangkok, no RCMP investigator accompanied Catmur.
Catmur met with Sonny Chhoun and interviewed him but she did not take custody of Dave Walker's cell phone in Sonny's
possession nor did she take Dave Walker's laptop, digital camera or
other property remaining in the hotel room into her custody as requested
by Tammy Madon, stating that she did not have the
authority to do so.
Ten days after his disappearance, Dave Walker's room
was still not sealed as a crime scene because the Cambodian authorities
were not treating Dave's disappearance as a crime. The Green
Village Angkor Guest House was the official custodian of Dave's
property. According to Allison Catmur, she could not take the
property into her custody until the Cambodians finish their
investigation, while the Cambodians claimed they cannot seal Dave's
hotel room until they decide his disappearance warrants an investigation.
Catch-22.
In the meantime, at least one unauthorized person, a
blogger in Cambodia going by the name of LTO (LTO
Cambodia: A barang in the Land of the Khmer http://ltocambodia.blogspot.ca/ ) had
gained unauthorized access to Dave's hotel room and searched it, advising us that he could
not locate Dave's ATM card. While this was helpful, at the same
time it was concerning just how unprotected potential evidence in Dave's
room might be.
"We
can only offer support, and make requests at high levels, which we have
done and we will continue to do as required."
The following e-mails were exchanged between
Vice-Consul Alison Catmur and Tammy Madon:
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From: Tammy Madon
[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Sunday, February 23, 2014 07:57 AM
To: Catmur, Allison -BNGKK -AG
Cc: SOS (CEC)
Subject: RE: Operations Centre in Ottawa - Contact info
Hi Allison,
I am looking for answers and updates.
My first concern is that Dave’s business partner Sonny was able
to access Dave’s room and retrieve the cell phone. And all of
his belongings including the laptop are not secured and still in
the room.
These are not in the control of anyone, why?
None of the data has been analyzed. The Cambodians need to be
told the Canadians are in charge. This is a missing Canadian
Journalist.
Cambodians see money and this could turn into a circus and they
are basically stating they cannot turn this over to Canadian
officials.
And if you leave Cambodia with no further info, the Cambodians
may see this as Canadians not being committed.
I have enduring Power of Attorney over Dave Walker, I am his
next of kin and emergency contact as listed on his passport.
I am also his executor if that time comes.
All legal docs are with me and Dave’s lawyer.
I am requesting the Canadian officials request the cell phone
records of all in coming and out going calls. All bank records,
and to implement the technology to pin point where these cell
phones are that called Dave’s phone.
Please let me know what has happened to date since you landed
there.
Thank you
Tammy Madon
From: Allison.Catmur@international.gc.ca
[mailto:Allison.Catmur@international.gc.ca]
Sent: February-23-14 4:57 AM
To: Tammy Madon
Cc: Jean-Francois.Parizeau@international.gc.ca;
sos@international.gc.ca
Subject: Re: Operations Centre in Ottawa - Contact info
Hello Tammy,
I returned from Siem Reap yesterday, and just received your
message this morning. Let me try my best to respond to your
questions.
I understand your concerns. We have been following up with local
authorities to urge them to take the situation seriously and to
conduct a thorough investigation, and we will continue to do so.
Our limitation is that as a foreign government we do not have
the legal authority take the lead in an investigation in a local
jurisdiction. We must instead rely on local authorities--in this
case Cambodian-- as they are the only ones with the authority to
carry out the investigation. We can only offer support, and make
requests at high levels, which we have done and we will continue
to do as required. We will be having a task force meeting first
thing in the morning to discuss a strategy of engagement with
local authorities on the matter, and please rest assured that we
will reiterate our concerns at the highest levels.
While in Siem Reap, I had a meeting with the head of the
Immigration police in Siem Reap, Lieutenant Colonel Chao. I
emphasized to him that we are very concerned about Dave's
wherabouts and well-being, and that we have sought involvement
and support from the highest levels of the Cambodian National
Police, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cambodia, in
efforts to locate him. He confirmed to me that he was aware of
this high level involvement. He said that they have distributed
Dave's photo to all border entry/exit points, and to various
police detachments to ensure that all are aware of the situation
and on the alert.
I discussed your concerns with him about access to the room and
Dave's belongings. His explanation is that the investigation has
not yet become a criminal investigation, which he says is why he
does not have the authority to treat the scene as a crime scene.
He did emphasize that access to the room is restricted by the
hotel, and he said that he had discussed with the guest house
the importance of restricting access.
As for your suggestion about investigating phone records, this
is a good one. Financial transaction records (ie: the last tome
a withdrawal was made) may also be of interest. Would you have
any information about his Canadian bank account and/or credit
card company? If you hold his POA, perhaps you may be able to
initiate a formal request for this information? I have mentioned
this to the local police as well, but for financial information
from accounts outside of Canada, I understand that they are more
limited in what they can do.
At this point, we are also hoping to obtain another photograph
of Dave to share with the local police to assist with the
search, as well as a physical description (eye colour, hair
colour, height, weight, distinguishing features like marks,
scars or tattoos). I wonder if you may be able to help with
this, and authorize us to share it with local authorities?
I believe that the visit to Siem Reap was critical, and that the
face-to-face meeting with Lieutenant Colonel Chao really helped
to drive home the importance that the Government of Canada
attaches to this case and how closely we will be following the
actions taken to try to locate Dave. This allowed us to take
stock of the current status of the case and re-emphasize in
person our high level of concern. I sincerely hope that this,
combined with additional requests, will help urge local
authorities to take the appropriate actions, and quickly.
I shall provide another update following the Task Force meeting
in the morning.
In the meantime, in order to facilitate your communications with
us due to the time difference, I would encourage you to channel
communications through Jean-Francois Parizeau, the case
management officer for Southeast Asia in headquarters (cc'd
here). I will be sure to fully brief Jean-Francois so he knows
what happened in Siem Reap and what our next steps will be. I
would also ask him to explain to you the consular role, and what
our limitations are when it comes to an investigation in a
foreign jurisdiction, as it is very important for you to
understand what we can and cannot do.
I would also ask that you discuss with Jean-Francois the notion
of appointing a spokesperson for this case. I am not sure if you
wish to take on this role yourself, but we would need to know
from you who we should communicate with, and who we would be
authorized to discuss the case with. Dave has many friends and
we have received a very large number of inquiries but are
constrained by Canadian Law and unable to disclose information
due to the Privacy Act.
Thank you,
Allison
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In the meantime Tammy Madon decided to follow Catmur's advice and
consider appointing an official spokesperson to Foreign Affairs.
COMING NEXT: (THE
INVESTIGATION PART 5: Hiring and Firing the Private Investigator)
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E-Mails
-----Original Message-----
From: Peter Vronsky
Sent: Saturday, February 22, 2014 11:11 AM
To: tammy ~ ; last gasp ron turner * ; turnerColin ; glossograph ~
Subject: Ground Report From Siem Reap
I developed an informant who photographed today the ground sites
connected to Dave's disappearance and I will post the photos shortly
to the Facebook page. Perhaps they will jog somebody's memory.
This is what they write:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
"I went to Green Village Angkor today and peeked around. The Guest
house is directly opposite from a large elementary school (Wat
Damnak primary), so there is a lot of day time traffic. The grounds
in front are quite large, but clean and well maintained. There are
several covered seating areas, an outdoor bar and a small swimming
pool in front of the main doors. I was only on the grounds for 1-2
minutes before being approached by staff. I told them I was looking
for lodging for friends and wanted to check out their guest house.
They allowed me to take some photos inside, but I couldn't talk my
way in to an open room to look around.
One of the things that bothers me is the lack of any security
videos. I did not see any cameras on the grounds or in the lobby,
but given that they have computers and several money boxes in plain
sight, I would expect there to be video surveillance of some type.
I also went to 5 Sons restaurant. The owner was quite willing to
talk. She
said that Dave had been in on the 14th about 1pm and left at 1:30.
The next night (Saturday, 15 Feb.) *S* came in and asked if she had
seen Dave. He told her that Dave had been gone from his room
overnight and that no one knew where he was. She has a copy of the
missing flyer - I'm assuming from *S*, but it was not posted. It
took her some time to find it in her receipts book. As far as I
could understand in talking to her, no one else had been in asking
about Dave except for *S*
Is *S* a local to Siem Reap? I am surprised that if he is here,
there are
no missing posters around town. This is a small place, and it
doesn't take
long for stories to travel. I would think that he would be more
active in trying to get the word out about his friend. Unless he
knows more than what he is telling you and/or scared of retribution
from whomever is responsible.
If there is anything else I can help please let me know."
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
-----Original Message-----
From: Peter Vronsky
Sent: Saturday, February 22, 2014 10:26 AM /div>
To: tammy ~
Subject: Re: vronsky madon turners ~ *motorpsycho nightmare*
Hi Tammy
This is just for you, regarding that last e-mail about Dave being
possibly
kidnapped and held for his ATM card by a Cambodian-Canadian he knows
over there.
Did you say that Dave's ATM card had not been used since Feb 14?
It is around 10:00 PM Cambodia time on Saturday, with the Consul
having already arrived there on Friday and worked all day Saturday,
and it seems that Sonny still has Dave's phone. Either they decided
that he should keep it or Dave's phone or they have not yet
interviewed him. !!!!!
I think everybody, everybody (including Praiwan when I spoke with
her yesterday, are automatically suspicious of the "business
partner").
Investigators will be too. I think at this point we should not fear
that
the investigators will overlook Sonny as a possible suspect. They
are for
sure going to look at him first and look very hard.
I think it would be in Dave's best interest for us to treat Sonny as
who he says he is: Dave's friend who is genuinely trying to help
and find him. If he has anything to do with Dave's
disappearance, his current active role in the case will lead him to
make a mistake and expose himself. It is not like he will be able
to cover up the crime more easily. In fact if he is guilty, the
more he actively participates in the search, the more he will trap
himself in a lie inevitably./div>
I don't think we should lobby further that Sonny be investigated
since
everybody believes he should be looked at first. That's a done
deal.
We should however, lay a "side bet" on that Sonny is innocent and
keep him close and weigh information he comes forward with. I found
a local
informant who just went to the places where Dave was and took photos
and spoke to people there. They have confirmed that Sonny indeed
appeared to be desperately looking for Dave the day after. All this
could be Sonny's plan, but for the sake of Dave, we should let Sonny
run free and wild as its 50/50 either way. Sonny might be the only
friend he has at the moment competent to find Dave. But if he is
not innocent, by doing all this Sonny will hang
himself with his own rope. It's not like on TV: a crime like this
is not
easy to "mastermind."
I e-mailed the Consul Officer sent from Bangkok to Siem Reap
introducing myself and asked her where to forward any information
trickling in as my e-mail is on Dave's missing poster. So far she
has not replied.
I just asked Richard to ask Sonny if the Consul has interviewed him
and if
the information Richard has given us been given the Consul.
Is the RCMP in this? Has that been confirmed? Do we have a contact
at the RCMP to whom the information arriving at my e-mail can be
forwarded to. The longer everything drags out on the
investigation, the colder the trail becomes.
Regards,
Peter
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