An Alberta man who is being questioned by police in connection with the disappearance of an elderly couple has been dropped by his lawyer.
Travis Edward Vader was expected to appear in a provincial courtroom in Edson, Alta. Tuesday to face charges on an unrelated matter –- three counts of possession of stolen property.
However, his attorney Brad Thomlinson showed up instead and informed the court he was withdrawing from the case.
Vader was arrested on a series of outstanding warrants, though police say he is a "person of interest" in the disappearance of Lyle and Marie McCann -- an elderly couple from St. Albert who have been missing for more than two weeks.
Thomlinson told the court that Vader is difficult to reach and that his client has already missed several court dates.
The judge granted Thomlinson's request to be dismissed from the case.
Vader, a 38-year-old B.C. resident, was taken into custody Monday at a home near Niton Junction, Alta., about an-hour-and-a-half drive west of Edmonton. He remains in custody Tuesday.
A second man was also taken into custody at the same Niton Junction residence, though he was later released and not charged. His name was not made public by police.
The McCanns were last seen filling up their motorhome at an Alberta gas station in early July. They were planning to meet up with family at a campground near Chilliwack, B.C., later in the month.
On July 5, their motorhome was found on fire in a wooded area near Edson, Alta., a short drive from Niton Junction. Their light-green Hyundai Tucson was not at the scene. Police tried to contact them, but they could not be found.
Five days later, the McCanns failed to turn up at the airport in Abbotsford, B.C., where they were supposed to pick up their daughter and granddaughter.
A report was filed with police and a missing-persons case was launched.
The McCanns' SUV was found last weekend at a location about 30 kilometres east of Edson that police said was a "potential crime scene."
Despite the fact that no one has seen the couple, their family holds out hope that they are still alive.
"Every fibre of my being feels 100 per cent that we will find them and they will be okay. I honestly, truly believe that," Nicole Walshe, their 31-year-old granddaughter, told CTV Edmonton.
The McCann family has created a Facebook group devoted to spreading word about the missing couple and the information that has been released to the public. The group has more than 30,000 members as of Tuesday afternoon.
With files from The Canadian Press
