A memorial service was held Sunday to mark the 30th anniversary of a horrific crime in Kelowna.
In August 1994, eight-year-old Mindy Tran was abducted while riding her bike in a Rutland neighborhood. Her body was found two months later in a shallow grave within Kelowna’s Mission Creek Park, just one kilometre from her home.
“At the time 30 years ago, it was quiet. A lot of the time we (left) the back door open,” said family friend Shui Lee. “But from that time on, after what happened, everybody was scared.”
Shannon Murin, a neighbour, was originally charged with Tran’s murder. But after a lengthy trial, he was found not guilty. He left B.C. and returned to Newfoundland, joined by a juror, Kathy McDonald, who admitted to having fallen in love with him.
Since the verdict, the murder remains unsolved.
On Sunday, three decades after Tran’s disappearance, a memorial was held at the park where her body was found.
A tree dedicated to her was covered in pink balloons and traditional Chinese music played throughout the ceremony. Stuffed animals were also placed below a plaque dedicated to Tran which reads in part, ‘As you pass by this place, and see this tree, that will grow instead of Mindy.’
“We walk by, we drive by and it clicks into automatic,” said Lee. “She’s here.”
Tran’s memorial is located at Springfield and Ziprick Road.