Where is Shelley-Anne Bacsu? $50K reward aims to uncover answers in Alberta cold case

For four decades, Sandy and Muriel Bacsu have lived with a painful question no parent should have to endure: What happened to their daughter?

“She was just a beautiful little girl… and someone took her away from us,” Muriel said, struggling to form words as raw emotion etched his face, as if no time had passed since his daughter vanished.

“It’s beyond words. I am not as strong as my wife… but we need her home.”

Shelley-Anne Bacsu was just 16 years old when she went missing on May 3, 1983, in a western Alberta community at the foot of the Rocky Mountains.

She was headed home from a babysitting job in the town of Hinton — a  seven-kilometre walk she’d done many times before.

Shelley-Anne called her mom Sandy before heading out. It was the last time they ever spoke.

“I just keep wanting to hear the sound of her voice and it’s fading… and I don’t like it,” Sandy said.

Shelley-Anne would now be 58. The years since her disappearance have been agony for the Bacsus, whose son has also since passed away.

“I have my son’s ashes by my bed. I need to have my daughter’s, too, so I can say goodnight,” Sandy said.

The couple feels feel frozen in time, unable to move forward.

“You think of what could have been, what might be — it’s torture. There’s no other word for it, it’s totally torture,” Sandy said.

The pain of all the memories she never got to make with her daughter weighs on Sandy.

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“I see other girls out with their mothers shopping or having lunch and thinking, ‘I didn’t get that opportunity and why?’ It was taken from me.”

Shelley-Anne’s body was never found but police found some of her belongings along the Athabasca River near Hinton and believe she was a victim of foul play.

Among them: A tiny grey jacket, obviously dated; dirt caked around its edges, blue pen marks, rips and tears and most notably, a red evidence tag on its zipper.

Inside the pocket was a library card that helped police identify its owner back in 1983.

More than four decades later, the Bacsu family and the police are still looking for answers.

Now, a large cash reward is being offered in hopes of changing that. About six months ago, businessman Todd Beasley provided $50,000 but so far, it has not generated any tips.

On Friday, they laid the sum out in cash in front of the media, hoping the visual would help.

“That’s what $50,000 looks like — help bring Shelly-Anne home,” Beasley said.

Bacsu’s case is one of hundreds of unsolved murders in Alberta and police said such rewards can make a difference.

Detectives in the RCMP Historical Homicide Unit have a difficult job. Once RCMP Major Crimes Unit has exhausted all efforts in the search for suspects in homicide cases, they are turned over to the eight-man unit. The HHU scours through the evidence again looking for new information.

As technology advances, they audit the evidence, like in Bascu’s case.

The unit works closely with forensic laboratories to ensure any advancement means a re-evaluation of what they already have collected, like fingerprints, shoe prints or tire prints from a scene.

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Cold Case: A look inside the Alberta RCMP’s Historical Homicide Unit

But so far, that hasn’t lead to a break in the cast. Investigators say time also plays a role in when witnesses may come forward — sometimes, the passage of time can weigh on a person.

“Either they were there and did it themselves, either they were there and saw someone do it, or someone told they did it and they believed them,” said RCMP Historical Homicide Unit Staff Sgt. Travis Mckenzie.

“That is what we need to further this investigation forward.”

The Historical Homicide Unit doesn’t do its work alone. Its members work alongside forensic laboratories, local RCMP detachments and victim’s services.

Officers try to keep in contact with families of victims at least once a year. Unfortunately, the message is usually the same: there’s no new information.

At 76 and 82 themselves, Sandy and Muriel know the clock is ticking in finding answers — but they hold out hope, however painful it may be.

“Help us get peace in our life,” Muriel said.

“Bring Shelley-Anne home.”

Anyone with information is encouraged to reach out to the Alberta RCMP Historical Homicide Unit via email RCMP.KHHU-KHHU.GRC@rcmp-grc.gc.ca or call 587-336-6589.

If you want to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or online.

–with files from Quinn Ohler, Global News

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