Kerry Chang says he wants to keep the investigation into his daughter’s death alive in the minds of the public.
Makayla Chang, who was 16, was discovered murdered in May after she went missing in March.
Kerry Chang is frustrated by the lack of information shared by investigators with members of his family. He vented some of that frustration on social media July 18, two months after his daughter’s death was confirmed by police.
“I don’t know a lot more than I did last month or last week, really,” Kerry said in an interview with the News Bulletin Wednesday. “[Police] are pretty much keeping us in the dark with whatever they know. There’s really no new information. They’re really tight-lipped about everything, so far.”
Makayla Chang was reported missing March 22 and after an extensive investigation Nanaimo RCMP reported May 18 they had found her body.
At the time of her disappearance, police thought Makayla might have been in the company of Steven Bacon, 53, of Nanaimo. Although Bacon’s residence and properties around it underwent extensive police searches, Nanaimo RCMP have never named any suspects or even persons of interest in the case.
Following the discovery of Makayla’s body, Nanaimo Cpl. Tammy Douglas, RCMP Island District spokeswoman, said Nanaimo RCMP Serious Crime Unit was leading the homicide investigation and as that investigation was ongoing, Nanaimo RCMP would not provide further information about the case.
“The RCMP are not prepared to make any comment about the ongoing investigation,” Const. Gary O’Brien, Nanaimo RCMP spokesman, reiterated Wednesday.
Kerry said he has heard rumours that police had possible suspects. So far as he knows, those are nothing more than rumours, but investigators, he said, have also asked him to report any rumours he might hear on the street.
“That kind of leads me to believe they’re kind of looking at other people, possibly,” Kerry said.
The process is frustrating, but Kerry said he also understands some of the constraints investigators are under in bringing a case to court.
“They have a 30-month window, once things are forwarded to Crown, to prosecute within that time frame or there’s a chance of an acquittal or of just the charges being dropped,” he said. “It’s pretty important for them to have all their t’s crossed and i’s dotted and so forth. They have over 70,000 pages of information, so it’s a bit of a process.”
He said he hopes community involvement will help keep the case and his daughter’s memory alive in the community, and that public awareness could help the investigation through tips or other information that might be passed to police and keep the investigation from possibly going cold.
Kerry said he and his family are taking life day to day, supporting each other emotionally, as the investigation continues.
“It’s fairly early. I understand that. It’s only been four months since she was missing … It’s two months since she was found and so forth, so I’m just kind of putting the voice out there just to keep it going,” Kerry said.
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