Episode 270: Having just set out from Quebec City the previous day, in the early hours of May 29, 1914, the passenger ship Empress of Ireland sank in the Saint Lawrence River near Rimouski, Quebec. She was on a return trip to Liverpool, England and due to heavy fog, the ship collided with the Norwegian collier SS Storstad.  Just two years after the Titanic calamity in international waters off the coast of Nova Scotia came the deadliest shipwreck in Canadian history. The event was so significant it is number 11 on the list of deadliest all-time Canadian disasters, just behind number 10, the Halifax Explosion. The collision occurred when most of the 1,057 passengers and 420 crew members were fast asleep. The aftermath was devastating; the liner plummeted beneath the waters in less than a quarter of an hour, resulting in the tragic loss of more than 1,000 lives. Sources: Commémoration Empress of Ireland 2014 ARCHIVED: Investigating the Empress of Ireland | Library and Archives Canada The Empress of Ireland disaster | National Museums Liverpool Into the Mist by Anne Renaud - Ebook | Scribd Losing the Empress by David Creighton - Ebook | Scribd Dark Descent by Kevin F. McMurray - Ebook | Scribd Empress of Ireland, ‘Canada’s Titanic,’ finally getting its due after 100 years - The Globe and Mail Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 269: On April 12, 1991, a group of teens attended a woodland party near Oromocto, New Brunswick, involving alcohol and drugs, including LSD. Pamela Gail Bischoff, 14, and William Wayne Dale (Billy) Stillman, 17, left the gathering together, marking the last sighting of Pamela Bischoff alive. Stillman returned home later, wet from the thighs down, cold, shaking, and sporting a cut above his eye with mud and grass on his pants. Six days later, Pamela’s body was discovered in the Oromocto River, a short distance from the party site. The time of death correlated to the evening she had left with Billy Stillman. Eyewitnesses confirmed seeing a male accompanying Pamela near the discovery site, and Stillman was seen departing the area, his pants muddied. An autopsy showed that Pamela’s death resulted from head wounds, and there was evidence of sexual assault, which included semen inside her body. Billy Stillman was arrested, released, arrested again and eventually charged and convicted in Pamela’s murder. Stillman’s appeals were based on alleged inappropriate conduct by the RCMP officers collecting important DNA evidence. This resulted in the case being heard and decided in Canada’s highest court in 1997, and a new trial was ordered. Sources: 1995 CanLII 5579 (NB CA) | R. v. Stillman | CanLII R. v. Stillman (W.W.D.) (1997), 192 N.B.R.(2d) 298 (TD | vLex Justis 1997 CanLII 384 (SCC) | R. v. Stillman | CanLII Pamela Gail Bischoff – Life Through My Eyes Pamela Gail Bischoff 1976-1991 - Ancestry® The Constitution Act, 1982, Schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (UK), 1982, c 11 | Federal Statutes Oromocto — Deer Park The Vancouver Sun 21 Mar 1997, page 7 - Newspapers.com The New Brunswick Telegraph Journal 22 Sep 1992, page 3 - Newspapers.com YouTube — What Happened To 14-Year-Old Pamela Bischoff? | Dark Waters Of Crime | Real Crime ARCHIVED - Kingsclear Investigation Report | Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP ROBERT FREDERICK BISCHOFF: obituary and death notice on InMemoriam Criminal AND Civil LAW Assignment - Regina vs. Stillman Criminal and Civil Law - Case Law Assignment - StuDocu Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 268: On November 18, 1987, Jay Cook, 20, and Tanya Van Cuylenborg, 18, a young couple from Vancouver Island, went on a road trip to Seattle, Washington. Unfortunately, they were never seen alive again. Their bodies were discovered weeks later in separate locations. Tanya had been raped, shot, and left in a ditch in Skagit County. Jay was found strangled in the woods near Monroe, about 60 miles away. The case went unsolved for over three decades until 2018, when authorities were able to use genetic genealogy to identify a suspect. He was arrested and charged with the murders. The man pleaded not guilty. In 2021, after his trial, the man was the first to be convicted using genetic genealogy. The couple’s killer was subsequently sentenced to life behind bars. Sources: The Murder of Jay Cook and Tanya Van Cuylenborg - Unsolved Mysteries The disappearance of Tanya Van Cuylenborg and Jay Cook: Following a decades-old cold case - CBS News Sheriff’s Office Seeks Information for Unsolved 1987 Murders | Snohomish County, WA Sheriff’s Office Detectives Seek the Public’s Help to Identify Suspect in 1987 Double Homicide Cold Case | Snohomish County, WA Arrest Made in 1987 Double Homicide Cold Case | Snohomish County, WA 2018 Annual Report | Skagit County Sheriff’s Office Suspect arrested in 1987 deaths of a young couple from BC | HeraldNet.com My cousin, the killer: Her DNA cracked a 1987 double murder - Victoria News Parabon NanoLabs: Engineering DNA for Next-Generation Nanotech, Analytics, and Forensics GENSCO | Home Chelsea Rustad | AMA : IAmA How DNA Expert CeCe Moore Solved 109 Cold Cases Is murder in your DNA? - The Fifth Estate season premiere - YouTube Killer of Tanya Van Cuylenborg and Jay Cook Sentenced | CBC News Life in prison for 1987 killer of young Canadian couple | Seattle Weekly Man convicted in the murder of Saanich couple left DNA on zip tie in 1987 – Victoria News Man appealing genetic genealogy murder conviction was a violent child, his family told police | CBC News State Of Washington, Respondent V. William Earl Talbott II Conviction for 1987 murders of Tanya van Cuylenborg and Jay Cook overturned | CBC News) Guilty verdict in 1987 killings of Saanich couple restored | CTV News The Forever Witness by Edward Humes Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episode 267: On November 4, 1979, Iranian militants attacked the US embassy in Tehran, Iran, taking 66 diplomats and staff members hostage. Remarkably, six diplomats managed to slip away unnoticed. These individuals were Robert Anders, Cora Lijek, Mark Lijek, Joseph Stafford, Kathleen Stafford, and Lee Schatz. Schatz sought refuge at the Swedish embassy, while the others went to the British embassy. However, upon nearing the embassy, they encountered a large crowd of protestors obstructing their path. Consequently, they decided to take shelter at Anders’ residence and devise their next steps. After six harrowing days, the six American diplomats sought refuge at the Canadian embassy.  The Canadian Ambassador to Iran, Ken Taylor, and his team provided shelter to the American diplomats and false Canadian passports. The Canadian government played a critical role in the mission to rescue them. The then-Canadian Prime Minister, Joe Clark, approved the operation and fully supported Ambassador Taylor and his team.  The rescue mission, known as the “Canadian Caper,” involved the creation of a fake movie production company called “Studio Six” and the production of a fake science fiction film called “Argo.” The Canadian embassy staff, along with the American diplomats, managed to escape from Iran using a combination of air travel and ground transportation. They were safely evacuated from Iran on January 28, 1980. The role played by Canada in the hostage crisis was highly appreciated by the US government and earned Canada international recognition for helping resolve the crisis. Sources: How the Shah’s Cancer May Have Changed History The Iranian Revolution — A timeline of events Ken Taylor and the Canadian Caper Our Man In Tehran by Robert Wright — Ebook | Scribd The Canadian Caper — Pelletier, Jean | Internet Archive Ken Taylor and the “Canadian Caper” | The Canadian Encyclopedia Canada history: Jan 27, 1980 — The famous “Canadian Caper” rescue – RCI | English What you won’t see in Argo — Macleans.ca Argo, F**k Yourself: Iran and the Oscars – The Diplomat ‘We lost a true hero’: Ken Taylor, 1934-2015 - Macleans.ca Tony Mendez, former CIA officer and inspiration for ‘Argo,’ dies at 78 - National | Globalnews.ca Ken Taylor satisfied with Affleck’s shoutout to Canada during Oscar speech | Globalnews.ca Canada and Iran U.S. Relations With Iran - United States Department of State Iran - The CIA World Factbook Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In October 2008, the friends and family of 38-year-old Johnny Altinger were worried. Although emails and social media messages had indicated Johnny had run away on the spur of the moment with an unknown woman he’d just met, things didn’t add up. The messages did not have the same feel as Johnny’s typical fare, and he wasn’t known for his spontaneity. Police had already spoken with the tenant at the Edmonton garage that Johnny was directed to on the night he disappeared. They’d seen some things that concerned them, but there was no sign of Johnny. Something seemed off with the 29-year-old filmmaker Mark Andrew Twitchell, the man they’d spoken to. Little did the police know that only a week before Johnny vanished, another man, Gilles Tetreault, had suffered a bizarre attack at Twitchell’s hands after being lured to the same garage. NOTE: This is part two of an updated, two-part expanded REDO of an earlier episode with which we thought we could have done better. We plan to update several more historical episodes to provide a better listener experience, more in line with the tone of our show. Sources: 2010 ABQB 693 (CanLII) | R. v. Twitchell | CanLII Edmonton Journal | Mark Twitchell’s First Statement To Police | Scribd Edmonton Sun | Twitchell Agreed Statement 1 | Scribd Edmonton Sun | Second Agreed Statement of Facts in Twitchell Case | Scribd Edmonton Sun | Garage and Evidence Photos Edmonton Sun | Video Evidence of Garage | YouTube A Transcript of Police Interview with Mark Twitchell From Oct. 20, 2008 | Scribd Alleged Diary from Mark Twitchell’s Computer | Scribd Twitchell DNA Report | Scribd Live Blog of Twitchell Trial | Scribd  Edmonton Journal | E-Mail Exchange Between Mark Twitchell & a Facebook Friend | Scribd Edmonton Journal | Mark Twitchell’s Notice of Appeal | Scribd Mark Twitchell case: Inside the mind of “The Dexter Killer” - CBS News Gilles Tetreault | Author | The One Who Got Away Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices