The family of Dwayne Demkiw held on to hope that he would return until his remains were found near Innisfail on April 5, 2016.
Outside his parent’s home in Saskatoon, a memorial has stood for the last 11 months since Dwayne went missing in May of 2015. He disappeared after leaving work in Edmonton where he had been living for the past 20 years. His car and cellphone were found in Calgary the same day that he went missing.
His father held out hope that he would return, and the news of his death came as a terrible blow.
“It just took a lot out of us, we’ve had a lot of support from family and friends and our church,” said Eugene Demkiw.
Dwayne leaves behind two sons of his own, and a community that cared about him.
“Dwayne was a very gentle man,” said Eugene. “Loved and liked by everyone, he was a helpful man, of course, we brought him up in a good situation here in North Battleford and Saskatoon, and he just became friends with anyone he was in contact with, in fact, all of his friends in Edmonton are just like family to him, and it’s a great loss to them as well as to us.”
The Edmonton Homicide Unit continues to investigate. During the search for Dwayne, officers combed the QE2 between Edmonton and Calgary for clues, even asking the public to be on the lookout. Foul play is believed to be involved.
Meantime, the memorial to Dwayne continues to grow, with new items joining the figure of an angel from his late grandmother.
