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Roger Byer murder still a mystery

Apr 16, 2011 | 7:30 AM

More than 12 months have passed without an arrest in the murder case of a Prince Albert ATM worker.

Roger Byer, 57, vanished without a trace on Jan. 20, 2010. He was last seen that afternoon in Melfort, filling an ATM machine at a local hotel.

His family reported him missing to police six days later and after an extensive search, his body and missing GMC Canyon were found by a farmer checking on his land near Yellow Creek on Apr. 1.

“The trail has not gone dry,” said RCMP Staff Sgt. Kirby Buckingham.

“Periodically tips will come in, it’s just kind of a waiting game. We just have to wait until the right person recalls the right thing and calls us.”

That’s the break we’re looking for, Buckingham said.

The RCMP are hoping that information comes sooner rather than later.

Cases tend to become more difficult to solve as more time passes, he said.

“The actual tangible evidence generally doesn’t change, but people’s recollection of events and things that occurred certainly does and the identification of people who may have been around at that particular time does too.”

Nobody is more eager to see a conclusion to the case than the family and friends of Byer.

“Not having the answers that they need to provide the closure has got to be very difficult,” said Buckingham.

They are doing their best to solve the case, he said. “(We) continue to conduct interviews and follow up on tips.”

The RCMP believe that Byer was murdered sometime after he was last seen in Melfort on Jan.20.

He was known to carry around large sums of money when filling ATMs, and had an undisclosed amount of cash with him the day he went missing. However, RCMP can’t be certain if that was the killer’s motive.

The RCMP have never disclosed the cause of death and said that information won’t be released to maintain the integrity of the investigation.

bbosker@panow.com