Hope and horror While Thelma Krull's family deals with the tragic reality of her slaying, Eduardo Balaquit's wife and sons still await an end to their nightmare
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 29/11/2018 (2120 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
His phone rang moments before the press conference Thursday afternoon.
In a few minutes, a homicide investigator would stand behind a podium at the Winnipeg police headquarters — as reporters scribbled in notebooks and camera shutters clicked — and announce that the remains of Thelma Krull had been found.
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But before Winnipeg got an answer to a question that had lingered for more than three years, Edward Balaquit got an answer to one that had hung over his head since late October.
He picked up the phone, fearful and anxious.
Ever since he’d been told human remains were found by two hunters trampling through the bush east of the city on Oct. 27, he knew there was a chance they could be Eduardo Balaquit’s — his father.
Still, desperate to see his father again, he hoped against hope for a different outcome.
The police officer on the line told Edward the forensic testing results were in. There was a pause or, at least, there seemed to be.
“There was that moment before he said her name,” said Edward, 31. “In that moment there was this fear that he would say my dad’s name.”
At 1 p.m., Winnipeg Police Service Sgt. Wes Rommel, the lead investigator on the Krull case, made the announcement as TV cameras rolled live. He said the discovery was a major break, forging a new link to the person responsible for her slaying.
Krull, 57, went missing July 11, 2015, after leaving her home for a morning walk. She had plans to pick up a cake for her grandson’s birthday party later that day, but she didn’t show up.
Right away, her family knew something terrible had happened. They’ve been in limbo ever since — at least, until Thursday’s grim confirmation.
As much as Edward was happy the Krull family had finally received some closure, he put himself in their shoes and imagined getting the same news.
“Even though it had been three years, they were probably in the same boat as we are. I’m sure it’s not the outcome they wanted. They were probably hoping that maybe she’d just walk through that door,” he said.
Tuesday will mark six months since Edward’s father vanished. Eduardo hasn’t been seen since leaving for work as a night cleaner at Westcon Equipment and Rentals Ltd. on the 300 block of Keewatin Street on June 4.
When he didn’t come home that night, his family — like the Krulls — knew something was terribly wrong.
By the next day, a handful of clues discovered behind the Keewatin business had been made public: a van abandoned in a deserted parking lot; shattered glass on the pavement; a cellphone left behind; a missing husband and father.
Edward and his brother, Erwin, began an around-the-clock search, a testament to the energy reserves people tap into when thrown into extraordinary circumstances.
“We didn’t get any sleep. We didn’t get any food. It was all adrenaline. My brother and I went a few days without sleep, sometimes without even realizing,” Edward said.
They followed up on every tip and rumoured sighting that poured in during those early days, convinced there would be a quick resolution to the disappearance.
The tips took them to residential neighbourhoods and highways on the outskirts of the city, down ditches and into ponds, through thick bush and across open prairie fields.
When it got dark, the brothers pulled out flashlights and continued to search as the moon and stars replaced the sun in the sky.
“We were all over the place. There were times we wouldn’t even realize the sun had come up and we were still out there looking,” he said.
One week after Eduardo went missing, police announced they were expanding their search into the Interlake, up to the rural community of Arborg, 110 kilometres north of Winnipeg.
The family followed, driving up and organizing search parties for the fields police weren’t already scouring.
Eventually, investigators spoke to Edward and his brother, saying that while they were thankful for the help, they were concerned with the amount of energy they were dedicating to the search.
“I think they realized, ‘You know what, these guys aren’t taking care of themselves.’ And we realized we should take a step back. So we could get better and so when my dad came home we’re there too, you know?” Edward said.
‘There’s still no normal yet. You’re aware of his absence every day. We’re just doing what we can to survive. We try to support each other, but at the end of the day there’s still this lingering feeling that stays with us’
– Edward Balaquit
While the police haven’t released new details on the case to the media, Edward said he remains in contact with them. Investigators often keep information from the public — known as holdback evidence — only the perpetrator would know.
Edward said his family has been assured the case remains a priority and isn’t on the back-burner.
In the months since, however, the outpouring of public support dwindled, the group searches became less frequent before stopping entirely and the media shifted its focus.
But for Edward, his brother Erwin and their mother Lumie, the nightmare rages on.
While the family has tried to continue with their lives — as they know Eduardo would want them to — the wound remains fresh and it can be hard to get through the days.
“There’s still no normal yet. You’re aware of his absence every day. We’re just doing what we can to survive. We try to support each other, but at the end of the day there’s still this lingering feeling that stays with us,” Edward said.
“Whenever I drive by an open field, I still look out the window to see if I can see anyone.”
‘There are just all these days that you want him there for. Thanksgiving passes. My mom’s birthday passes. Christmas is coming. These are all events that are happening and he should be here’
– Edward Balaquit
As days turned into weeks and weeks into months, holidays and milestones kept getting marked off the calendar. The biggest of those came July 28, when Edward married his fiancé.
After taking a break from planning the wedding — which Eduardo had been working extra hours to help pay for before he went missing — they decided to move forward with the big day.
In the leadup, Edward kept preparing things as if his dad would be able to attend. He couldn’t give up hope that somehow his dad would make it home in time to see him walk down the aisle.
“It was a roller-coaster. The beginning of the day was a bit rockier, because it hit home that my dad wasn’t going to be able to attend. But we knew that he would have wanted us to enjoy the day and be happy,” Edward said.
“There are just all these days that you want him there for. Thanksgiving passes. My mom’s birthday passes. Christmas is coming. These are all events that are happening and he should be here.
“It doesn’t even have to be a special thing. Like, my dad wanted to help us landscape our house. You watch and see the days go by and they’re all days that he would have wanted to be a part of.”
Not knowing what happened is one of the most agonizing things to deal with, he said.
‘Whenever I drive by an open field, I still look out the window to see if I can see anyone’
– Edward Balaquit
On Thursday, at the police press conference, Rommel said providing closure to families in these cases is one of many factors that helps investigators push forward.
“Any time you see families go through struggle and strife… in terms of not knowing what happened, those are all motivating factors in us trying to figure out what happened,” he said.
“We just want to bring answers to as many of these files and cases where people die as we can.”
Like Krull, Eduardo’s disappearance began as a missing persons file before being transferred to homicide investigators. On Oct. 31, police announced Eduardo was “very likely” a homicide victim.
Edward said his family remains hopeful his father is out there, somewhere, alive.
As the seasons change and days and weeks continue to trickle by with no news, they fight to keep faith that their story will have a happy ending.
In the meantime, they try not to speculate and run through scenarios of what could have happened, knowing it leads their minds to dark places.
“Thinking about scenarios just brings out the worst thoughts. And you don’t want to think the worst thoughts. I try not to get into it,” he said.
“I’m hoping my dad comes home and I can hear the story from him. We know he’s out there. We know someone knows something.”
And, as one Winnipeg family is now certain about the ending to their tragic story, the Balaquits anxiously await their answer.
Since his father went missing six months ago, Edward said he’s begun paying more attention to missing-person cases, sharing them on social media and spreading the news by word of mouth.
Each time he sees a new poster marking a new disappearance — like the faded ones with his father’s face posted throughout the city — he knows there are others out there living the same kind of misery that he, his brother and their mother are.
When asked to describe that feeling, Edward paused for a moment.
“Until this is resolved, it’s hell,” he said. “It’s been hell.”
ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @rk_thorpe
Ryan Thorpe
Reporter
Ryan Thorpe likes the pace of daily news, the feeling of a broadsheet in his hands and the stress of never-ending deadlines hanging over his head.
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History
Updated on Friday, November 30, 2018 6:58 PM CST: Adds photo
