It was 45 years ago, on Monday, when teenager Marie Judy Goudreau left Edmonton about 11 p.m. to start driving her dad’s blue Plymouth Cricket home on a farm near Leduc..The next day, August 3, 1976, Leduc RCMP received a report of an abandoned vehicle on RR. 244, about 5 km south of TSR. 510 (Ellerslie Road)..Officers arrived to find Goudreau’s car in the southbound lane of the roadway, the engine still running, headlights on and the driver’s door ajar – with the driver’s side window rolled about ¾ of the way down, said RCMP Cpl. Deanna Fontaine.. Screen-Shot-2021-07-29-at-12.29.03-PMGoudreau’s car, with the engine still running. Courtesy RCMP .Leduc RCMP searched the vehicle and found a brown leather purse with money inside, a pair of sandals, and a mahogany-colored leather coat folded neatly on the back seat — all determined to belong to Marie..The officers found no evidence of a criminal act, but discovered Marie had not returned home..An air and ground search, with the help of police dogs and horses, also proved futile..“At that time, RCMP believed Marie was stopped along the road and lured out of her car either by someone she knew or under the guise that someone required aide,” said Fontaine..Police looked into her activities earlier in the evening and discovered about 9:15 p.m., on August 2, 1976, Marie had dropped a girlfriend off at the Edmonton Industrial Airport and then traveled to visit two other friends in their apartment in Edmonton..Fontaine said Marie told her girlfriends that she was tired and had to work the following morning, and left her friend’s apartment at approximately 10:30 p.m., to drive home to the family farm..At the time, Marie worked at the Woodward Café at the Southgate Shopping Centre in Edmonton and she had been accepted to college in Edmonton for the fall of 1976..“On August 4, 1976, between 7-8 p.m., Marie’s body was discovered on a rural property approximately 1.7 miles north of Devon, Alta., near Hwy. 60 in a water-filled ditch,” said Fontaine..“Police determined that Marie’s brown slacks and navy blue ankle socks were missing. Those items have never been recovered.”.RCMP investigators sifted through more than 600 leads and were looking into several more when, in the winter of 1977, additional investigators were assigned to the case in hopes a fresh set of eyes would yield new avenues of investigation..Again, pleas were made to the public for information in hopes for a break in the case, said Fontaine..Police received and investigated tips in the following years however, this case remained unsolved..In 2005, homicide investigators reviewed the Marie Goudreau case as a part of an examination of the deaths of women from the Edmonton area whose bodies had been located in the surrounding rural communities..“Interviews were conducted with persons of interest and some items were re-submitted to the RCMP forensic lab for examination; however, they did not obtain any new information that could advance the investigation,” said Fontaine..The Alberta RCMP Historical Homicide Unit is now in the processing of reviewing this case and will pursue any avenues of investigation that may be identified, she said..“45 years have passed since Marie Goudreau was murdered. Leduc RCMP are asking the public’s assistance for any information in relation to this incident, the missing clothing or identifying those responsible. If you have information, please contact the Leduc RCMP at 780-980-7200 or your local police agency.”.Speaking in an RCMP video this week, Goudreau’s sister, Monique, described her as “a bright, loveable and vibrant teenager” who dreamed of becoming a police officer..“Sadly 45, years have gone by. Our parents have since passed… it’s a continuing heartache…she’s very much missed by her seven siblings.”.Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.,dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com,.Twitter.com/nobby7694
