Island Crime

If Michael is alive, DNA is the most likely way he will be found. The police have now put together Michael's DNA from his old toys and a hat.

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From afar it may appear that there is just nothing. But the opposite is true. There are many suspects and it is possible whomever is responsible has already  been identified.

Retired Detective Al Cochrane believes there is someone out there with a specific piece of information who needs to step forward in order for the Dunahees to know what happened to their son Michael. 

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In this episode you'll hear about the extraordinary lengths taken to solve the case. Retired Detective Sergeant Don Bland describes the efforts as like 'the war measures act'. Police contact the American space agency to try to get satellite pictures. The BC government flies 9 detectives down to Quantico Virginia, to consult with the F.B.I .

Michael's grandmother Cathy Jeffries reflects on memories of Michael and recalls searching for him with one of Michael's other grandmothers.

On Sunday March 24th 1991, Ian Arnold rides his bicycle around the neighbourhood searching for Michael.  He lives across from Blanshard Elementary. The Dunahee's go to his home to phone the police that afternoon.

Retired Detective Sergeant Don Bland is one of the lead detectives on the Dunahee investigative team.  Three decades on he remembers  the mounting concern in the early hours and days after Michael disappears.

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Crystal's team mates 'The Hellcats' are the first to search for Michael. They will later be hypnotized to jar memories. Witnesses to one of Canada's greatest unsolved mysteries, their friendships transcend time and tragedy.

In this episode the players walk through Sunday March 24th 1991,  the minutes and hours immediately following Michael's disappearance.

John Ducker  will go on to become Victoria's Deputy Police Chief. In 1991, he is one of the junior officers called in to assist with the search and the investigation.

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In this episode you will hear the voice of Michael Dunahee himself. Michael's parents Bruce & Crystal Dunahee shared home video with Producer Laura Palmer. 

Felicia Bernier was one of Michael's little chums. She describes her friend Michael through the lens of a childhood playmate. She talks about his love of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. And how losing her buddy in such tragic circumstances impacted her life.  

Bruce and Crystal Dunahee reflect on their life as a family before Michael vanishes. Michael's parents talk about Michael's childhood and what kind of a little guy he is growing into. They are interviewed separately and together to capture as much detail as possible about the day Michael disappears and their specific recollections of the event. 

Author Valerie  Green wrote the book on Michael Dunahee's case. It's called 'Vanished: The Michael Dunahee story'. Valerie mostly writes local history books. And true crime represents something of a departure for her. But Michael's disappearance in 1991, is a big part of the story of Victoria. 

Townsend Coleman is the voice of  the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle 'Michaelangelo', one of Michael's heroes. At the end of each episode Townsend is lending his voice to  a plea for information on Michael's case. 

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The cliche 'It's every parent's nightmare' certainly fits the narrative of the disappearance of 4-year-old Michael Dunahee. On a spring day in 1991, Michael vanished from a playground in Victoria, BC while his parents were nearby. The adorable dimpled little boy with tousled blond hair captured the attention of the entire country. His case remains one of the largest unsolved mysteries in Canada. What happened to little Michael on that day? Could he still be alive?

Listen to Island Crime, Season 3: Missing Michael on January 18th.

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