Vader trial continues: RCMP officer on SUV car keys found in stolen truck

RCMP officer testifies in murder trial An RCMP officer took the stand at Travis Vader’s double murder trial.

An RCMP officer testified Tuesday in the double murder trial for Travis Vader, and said car keys found in a pickup truck that had allegedly been stolen by the accused fit the SUV Lyle and Marie McCann had been towing behind their motorhome.

Sgt. Grant Goulet told court Tuesday that back in August, 2010, he and another officer were searching a pickup truck inside the St. Albert RCMP detachment.

The stolen vehicle was believed to have been linked to Travis Vader – the Crown claims Vader had stolen the vehicle.

Goulet testified he found a key on a fob in the box of the truck – and said the key was Hyundai, the same brand of vehicle Lyle and Marie McCann owned.

Goulet said he went to K-Division, where the McCanns’ SUV was being kept as part of the missing persons investigation. He went to see if the key fob matched – he said he pushed a button on the key fob, and the lights on the SUV flashed.

The officer also opened the door of the car with the key, and turned on the vehicle.

In cross-examination, defence lawyer Brian Beresh had the officer acknowledge the vehicle had been uncovered, and not in police custody for several days before the key was found.

Another officer testified the key was not found a month earlier, when the truck was found east of Edson on oilfield lease land.

The truck was sent to an Edson towing company yard, and an Edmonton salvage compound between its discovery and when the key was found.

With files from David Ewasuk