Book alert: “Cold a Long Time: An Alpine Mystery” by John Leake
“Cold a Long Time: An Alpine Mystery” about Duncan MacPherson by author John Leake is my new “must read” for this summer.
Duncan Alvin MacPherson (Feb 3, 1966 – Aug 9, 1989), a Canadian professional ice hockey player, went missing during a short stay in Austria.
John emailed to give me the heads up about the book. I scanned the web a little today for information about the case. If you like a real mystery, conflicting forensic opinions and, the possibility that someone lied and another did everything to cover it up, this book is for you.
Duncan had accepted a job as a player-coach for a semi-pro hockey team in Dundee, Scotland, starting in August 1989. Before starting there however, he went snowboarding in Austria. And there he just vanished.
The story, especially the struggle from the parents to get answers and collaboration from the Austrians, reminded me of Kathy’s struggle to get answers in the case of her missing son Aeryn Gillern. Aeryn’s mother is still trying to get the Austrian authorities to review the case and she faces the same hurdles as the MacPhersons.
There is reason enough to review the case. Without having read the book and without having done an in-depth Internet search, I know this:
- You cannot assign a cause of death by just looking at Duncan’s remains. He was found frozen solid with his clothes on. A thorough review of his internal body was never done.
- By simply stating that Duncan died of multiple trauma without an autopsy we only know that Duncan suffered multiple trauma but not to what extent and what might have caused the trauma.
- If I understand correctly, Duncan’s body was not removed from the ice and snow under the supervision from a coroner and, the area where he was found was not cordoned off immediately after he was spotted. I am not implying tampering with the body but it indicates a sloppiness in the procedures.
The website is a treasure trove with pictures, information, reports and more. It also holds a spoiler section.
I am eager to read this book. If you have read this book, let me know what your thoughts are by posting it in the comment box below and I’ll alert John so he can respond.
Last, if you know of more cases of missing foreigners in Austria, you might want to list them in the comment section as a signal to Austria that we do not forget our missing.
To be continued!
Categories: Book Reviews, Forensics, Missing Persons
Tags: Aeryn Gillern, Austria, Autopsy, Book Reviews, Canada, Crime Scene, Duncan MacPherson, Evidence, Forensics, Identification, Missing Person, Police, Victim, Witnesses
I am Duncan’s mother.
In May 2006, we provided the Austrian Federal Ministry of Justice with a detailed petition, requesting a judicial review oh the investigation of death, and a re-opening of the investigation. Our appeal for due process included allegations that Duncan had been struck by snow grooming machine, and subsequently buried in a crevasse. We also detailed our allegations of coverup use of power by investigating authorities. To support our allegations, we included documentary and photographic evidence.
The Minister rejected our request. According to the Minister, a “Statute of Limitations that expired in the 90s” prevented her from reopening the investigation.
While it is possible (however questionable) that Austria has a Statute of Limitations that prevented someone from being prosecuted, I argued that the Statute should not be used as a means to prevent an investigation of death from taking place. To my mind that is abuse of power. Duncan was entitled to have his death explained, regardless of whether anyone could/could not be prosecuted.
The victim of a sudden death that occurred under mysterious, if not suspicious, circumstances does have the right to have his death properly investigated.
Following dismissal of our petition to the Minister, we filed an application with the European Court of Human Rights, claiming Austria was in violation of Article 2 (Right to Life) for failing to conduct an effective investigation of death; and in violation of Article 13 (Right to Effective Remedy) for falling to provide due process.
In April 2009 (two years after filing the application), ECHR informed us that three judges (Austria, Switzerland, Luxemberg) had rejected our application. ( geographically balanced? Given Duncan was Canadian, why not a judge from UK?)
The Court also informed us they were not required to provide a reason for their decision, and that we were not allowed to appeal the case to any other body.
By this point, I was convinced the Austrian judicial system, and the ECHR were guilty of abuse of power. Words like “democracy, rule of law, accountability” did not apply to Duncan’s case.
The question is why? What influenced public officials to take active measures to prevent the truth of Duncan’s desth from emerging? What caused each and everyone of them to sacrifice their professional integrity?
Feeling that we, and most especially Duncan, had been denied due process, we turned to author John Leake, providing him all the material we had gathered in our then 20-year quest to uncover the truth, and asked him to write a book that would document Duncan’s death.
John did an excellent job of pulling together a long and convoluted story, clearly demonstrating the systemic coverup.
Denied justice by Austria, and by the ECHR, the facts of Duncan’s death are now in the Court of Public Opinion.
Based on reader reaction to date, it is safe to say that the public has reached a verdict, finding both the ski operator and the Austrian judicial system guilty of covering up the facts of Duncan’s death.
Dear Mrs. MacPherson,
Thank you for commenting and reading my blog posts. Allow me first to express my deepest sympathy for your loss and my frustration at how you and your family have been treated.
Indeed, John did an excellent job with the book and also with the website. I am trying to get more opinions from forensic experts by sending them to John’s site to look at the photography. But you are right, this was definitely a cover-up.
Your son did not plan to be out on the slope for long. He left too much behind in the car and was improperly dressed. My take is that his fall was caused by a mix of inexperience snowboarding and snowboarding on inadequate equipment. Who is to blame for Duncan being out there with that inadequate equipment?
His death was not intended as in planned (e.g. premeditated) but his death was intended to be covered up when he and his equipment were placed in the crevasse.
I will host John on Sept 7 for a #cclivechat on Twitter to publicly discuss the case and the evidence.
I wish that I had the right words to express everything Duncan’s death made me feel but, I am at a loss. The best I can say is that you and your family are forever in my thoughts.
My best, V
As I demonstrate in “Cold a Long Time,” when Duncan’s body emerged on the ski slope with his snowboarding equipment, it became apparent that his death had, most likely, been fraudulently concealed. This alone should have triggered a thorough investigation. By invoking the statute of limitations on negligent homicide as grounds for immediately closing the case, the Innsbruck public prosecutor rewarded the culprit for concealing his crime.
AGREED!
It would all have been so simple, and comprehensible, if everyone had simply told the truth.
Yes, forever we’ll be sad that we’ve lost Duncan; but, we do understand, as Duncan also understood, accidents happen. But, coverup of an accident is another matter – and that is what we are dealing with. Corruption starts at the top, not the bottom.
Agreed, Lynda: “Corruption starts at the top, not the bottom.”