Edmonton, Alberta — Marie Goudreau, 17, was found dead on August 4, 1976. Her blue Plymouth Cricket was found abandoned and still running.
It is believed on August 2, 1976 Marie dropped a friend off at the former Edmonton Industrial Airport around 9:15 p.m., then visited two other friends at their apartment in the city.
Around 10:30 p.m., she left because she had to work the next morning at the Woodward Café in the Southgate Shopping Centre. She lived on the family farm near Beaumont, south of Edmonton and east of Devon.
Marie never made it home.
Her running, abandoned vehicle was reported just after midnight Aug. 3 on Range Road 244, three miles south of Township Road 510. Money and her belongings were found at the scene.
Investigators at the time found no evidence she had walked into surrounding fields, and concluded she was stopped on the road and lured out.
"The items that were there really indicate to us that this wasn't a robbery," Staff Sgt. Jason Zazulak with Alberta RCMP's serious crimes branch told CTV News Edmonton.
"There was nothing disturbed. So it appears that Marie left her vehicle somewhat voluntarily, but we don't know that for sure and we don't want to limit ourselves in what we may look at for evidence by trying to make those assumptions."
"She was taken so suddenly and in such a violent manner," sister Monique Goudreau said in a video statement shared by Mounties.
Despite her body being found a day later, Marie's brown slacks and navy blue socks were never recovered, police say.
What happened that night has been the question at the centre of an investigation spanning decades, more than 600 leads, and several file reviews. In 2005, Marie's case was examined alongside that of other victims whose bodies were found in a similar manner.
Now in 2023, Alberta RMCP's historical homicide unit is working on it again, with better DNA technology than ever before.
"In this case, there were DNA exhibits that were identified and have been tested over the years that haven't matched to anyone, or there was insufficient genetic material to develop a DNA profile," Zazulak said.
"Please help the police solve this grave injustice and help us bring closure to her family. Someone must know something," Marie's sister pleaded.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Leduc RCMP at 780-980-7200 or Crime Stoppers.
