When Daniel Gandza walked out the door of his friendB次元官网网址檚 apartment following dinner and a round of video games, it was as though he vanished into thin air.
After heading out between 2:30 and 3 a.m. on April 27, he reached his basement suite, located just a 15-minute walk away, near Fernwood Road and Walnut Street.
Police know Gandza changed his clothes. His hiking boots and keys are gone, though his cellphone was left behind.
His absence was immediately noted by his roommates and his employer; Gandza was scheduled to work the next morning.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 going on two months now and it just feels like itB次元官网网址檚 longer than that,B次元官网网址� said his older sister, Joan Gandza, of View Royal. B次元官网网址淪o weB次元官网网址檙e worried, very worried.B次元官网网址�
The family has put up 300 posters in parks and neighbourhoods where the commercial and residential painter frequented or lived, including Beacon Hill and Fernwood, as well as around Mount Finlayson, Mount Doug and East Sooke regional park.
Victoria police detectives have reached out to police and community partners in B.C. and Alberta, exhausting six to 10 tips, including reports of possible sightings.
ItB次元官网网址檚 rare when detectives arenB次元官网网址檛 able to uncover signs that could explain a disappearance, such as mental illness, or a mental breakdown caused by a romantic breakup or a job loss.
Of the 30 people police have interviewed, all said the same thing about the soft-spoken, generous man who enjoys gaming, skateboarding, hiking and camping.
B次元官网网址淚n this case, we talked to all of DanielB次元官网网址檚 family and friends and he was still the same way as he was a couple weeks before, the month before,B次元官网网址� said Victoria police Det. Paul Spencelayh, one of three detectives investigating the case.
Gandza didnB次元官网网址檛 have a criminal past, wasnB次元官网网址檛 a drug user, had no enemies and had never before disappeared. Cellphone, computer and banking checks have yielded no clues.
Stephanie Jarymy last spoke to her younger brother by telephone on April 25 to help plan his move out of his suite a few days later.
B次元官网网址淭o me, that day he seemed fine,B次元官网网址� said Jarymy, an Esquimalt resident. B次元官网网址淗e was busy working, I was trying to get into the dentist office. It just seemed like a regular conversation I had with him.B次元官网网址�
Foul play, such as a mugging gone wrong, has been ruled out by police.
B次元官网网址淭raditionally, when that happens, you either find a person stumbling out of the hospital because they have a head injury or something, or you find a body on the road,B次元官网网址� Spencelayh said.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e kind of at a crossroads now where thereB次元官网网址檚 not much more we can do,B次元官网网址� he said, adding that all hopes rest either on Gandza or someone who has seen him.
ItB次元官网网址檚 unlikely Gandza would return to the familyB次元官网网址檚 home province of Manitoba, where his mother and two other older sisters live.
B次元官网网址淚 would see him staying here on the Island, if thatB次元官网网址檚 what heB次元官网网址檚 doing, or heB次元官网网址檚 popped over to the mainland and continued up the coastline,B次元官网网址� Jarymy mused. B次元官网网址淎re there other possibilities out there? Absolutely. Could he have bonked his head and succumbed (to his injuries)? Sure. Did he end it all? Possibly.
B次元官网网址淲e have to think of all those avenues and keep them open until I donB次元官网网址檛 know when.B次元官网网址�
The family plans to put up more missing-person posters this summer.
B次元官网网址淲e donB次元官网网址檛 want him to become a memory of ours. We want him to be part of our lives always,B次元官网网址� Jarymy said.
The longer her brother remains missing, the public will only come to remember him as the focus of a poster campaign, she said.
B次元官网网址淏ut I donB次元官网网址檛 want that to be my memory of my brother.B次元官网网址�
Looking for the public's help
B次元官网网址� Daniel Gandza is described as just under six feet tall with a very slender build. He has blue-green eyes and light brown or dirty blond hair.
B次元官网网址� Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call Det. Paul Spencelayh at 250-995-7259, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
