EDMONTON – The second man arrested with Travis Vader – who is the "person of interest" in the case of a missing Alberta couple – early Monday was questioned and released without being charged on Tuesday, RCMP said.
The man, who has not been named, was arrested when RCMP converged on a home in MacKay, Alta., around 3 a.m. Monday morning. They were looking for Vader, who had been on the run for three days after police announced he was a person of interest in the disappearance of St. Albert, Alta., couple Lyle and Marie McCann.
The couple hasn’t been seen since July 3.
Vader, 38, remains in custody on three unrelated possession of stolen property charges. He was expected to appear in an Edson, Alta., courtroom Tuesday morning, but his lawyer appeared instead and asked to be taken off the case.
Just after 10 a.m., defence lawyer Brad Thomlinson told the judge Vader repeatedly fails to come to court and he doesn’t want to represent him anymore.
The judge told Thomlinson he needed to speak directly to Vader about being removed from the case and dispatched the lawyer to the RCMP detachment in Edson, Alta., to speak with his client.
Lyle McCann, 78, and Marie McCann, 77, were last seen earlier this month after leaving for a trip to B.C. in their motorhome.
On July 3, Lyle McCann was captured on video filling the motorhome with gas in St. Albert. It was the last time their credit card was used.
Two days later, their motorhome was discovered in flames at a campground about an hour southeast of Edson.
Their SUV, which they normally tow behind the motorhome, was missing.
The McCanns were reported missing on July 10 after they failed to show up for a planned meeting with their daughter in Abbotsford, B.C.
Their SUV was discovered on July 16.
Vader is also scheduled to appear in court in Edmonton on July 27, for other unrelated, pre-existing charges.
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