Police still on hunt to find girl’s killer

EDSON, Alta.—RCMP were urging people in a tough energy town in western Alberta not to take the law into their own hands as more than 30 Mounties scoured the region for a man who killed the 14-year-old daughter of a pastor and left her body on a trail.
The slaying of Emily Stauffer in broad daylight Saturday afternoon has filled many in the Edson area, 200 km west of Edmonton, with grief and fear.

Mounties were searching yesterday for a 30-year-old white man wearing a blue jacket and blue jeans who may have been driving an all-terrain vehicle—a description that could fit many people in rural Alberta.
“We don’t know who this person is, we don’t know where he is from, and currently we don’t know where [he is],” said RCMP Cpl. Wayne Oakes. “People who were near that trail area on Saturday should contact the Edson detachment.”
Oakes added that because the description is so generic, the last thing police want to see is anybody engaging in vigilante justice.
“Mistakes are very likely to happen,” he warned. “It would be so tragic if somebody engaging in such an activity ends up on the wrong side of the law based on raw, emotional feelings.”
Resident Mitch Iwanciwski told CTV Edmonton there has been talk about people in the community launching their own search for a suspect.
“There’s rumours floating around that they hope the cops catch him first [rather than] the local boys catching this guy.”
Police released a composite sketch of a man whom they want to question, but said he is not a suspect.
Investigators have said Emily Stauffer was killed by a man who approached her as she strolled along a tree-lined walking trail. The girl was a nature buff who often walked in the woods to take photographs.
Police said two young boys riding their bikes witnessed the attack and pedalled home for help, but by the time emergency crews arrived, the girl was dead.
Nearby resident Jim Lozinski said he saw police performing CPR on the girl and saw a bloody rope on the trail.
Pastor Terry Stauffer paid tribute to his daughter on a website.
“Our precious 14-year-old daughter Emily was attacked and killed as she was out for a walk. We don’t know a lot of details, but we know that two young men came upon the scene right away, but it was too late for Emily,” he wrote.
“Please pray for us, for our church family who are meeting without us right now, and for family that is travelling.”
People from across Canada and the world responded quickly to the tragedy, offering condolences and support on the website.
“We are praying for you. May God give you strength and courage to face this loss and the evil behind it,” wrote Dave Groff of Fort Frances, Ont.
Edson Mayor Greg Pasychny said word of the slaying rippled through the town quickly. Parents kept their children off the streets on Sunday and many drove their children to school yesterday.
Pasychny said his own nine-year-old nephew is so scared he couldn’t sleep Sunday night.
“People are disturbed by this, it has really rattled our community,” Pasychny added. “This has shaken people. It is the one thing people never imagined would happen here.”