Four unsolved murders from the 1970s have been linked to a fugitive who hid in Canada for decades, raising the possibility of more victims.
Alberta Royal Canadian Mounted Police Supt. Dave Hall announced Friday that Gary Allen Srery, a deceased U.S. fugitive, has been linked to the deaths of four young women in Canada nearly 50 years ago. Authorities believe he may also be linked to unsolved murders and sexual assaults in Western Canada and are appealing to the public for information.
The breakthrough in the Canadian homicides came when authorities compared DNA of the killer with profiles on ancestry websites, eventually leading them to a match with Srery, Hall said.
Hall provided details of the four Canadian cases linked to Srery:
- In 1976, Eva Dvorak and Patricia McQueen, both 14, were found dead under a highway underpass in Calgary.
- In the same year, Melissa Rehorek, 20, who had recently moved to Calgary from Ontario, was found in a ditch west of the city.
- In 1977, Barbara MacLean, 19, who had recently moved to Calgary from Nova Scotia, was found strangled outside the city.
Alberta RCMP Insp. Breanne Brown said Srery had an extensive criminal record, including forcible rape, kidnapping, and burglary, when he fled to Canada from California in 1974. He lived in Canada illegally until his arrest for sexual assault in New Westminster, British Columbia in 1998.
Srery used nine different aliases and frequently changed his appearance, residence, and vehicles. He obtained illegal identification and social assistance through aliases and lived a transient lifestyle, occasionally working as a cook in Calgary and Vancouver.
Srery was deported to the U.S. in 2003, where he was convicted in Idaho for sexually motivated crimes and sentenced to life in prison. He died in prison in 2011.
"We know that Srery's criminality spanned decades over multiple jurisdictions and numerous aliases," said Brown. "The Alberta RCMP believe there are more victims and we are asking the public to assist in furthering Srery's timeline in Canada."
Authorities are urging anyone with information related to Gary Allen Srery to contact the RCMP at 403-427-8487 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
