Criminal logo

truly criminal

these things do not "just happen!"

By ADHD AccountantPublished 3 years ago 4 min read
Like
Photo by fotografierende from Pexels

truly criminal (these things do not “just happen”)

by the ADHD Accountant – Krid

I have enjoyed the Phantom of the Opera since I was a child. Part of it may have been the exclusion by my Nana who took all of the family except my sister and I, the youngest. She was confident that we, as mere children, could not, would not, be able to appreciate the experience.

In the play, and I may be misquoting, there is a scene where Carlotta, the diva, feels threatened and unsafe. Lashing out at the managers who are attempting to explain away the incident as an accident she replies “these things happen?! No!”

Carlotta’s point here is that there is a malevolent force, coordinating and acting on a plan to terrorize the troupe into meeting a specific goal. And, often escalating. These aren’t individual acts of undirected fury. A fit of rage where someone has lashed out. These are premeditated, planned, acts of violence. Some may have even become habit.

There are many unsolved crimes, true crimes, that have been documented. Some, more horrifying for what we know the victim suffered. Some, where there are no bodies found; leaving holes that have never been filled in the lives left behind.

From 1973 to 1981 over 28 women and girls were raped and murdered. Known as the Trans-Canada Highway Killer, the perpetrator was never identified as they littered the scenic mountain highway between Alberta and British Columbia with destroyed lives and destroyed families; victims as young as 12.

The Trans-Canada Highway is the major thoroughfare from East to West Canada; at 7,821 km it is the longest national road in the world. Between Calgary, Alberta and Vancouver, British Columbia it is over 970 km from the Plains, through the Rocky Mountains, to the West Coast. Tourism, shipping, industry, and local traffic. Trains, trucks, cars, boats and recreation vehicles large and small are strung out like pearls on a road that goes from 90km/h to 120km/h and has turnoffs and turnouts to support locals, industry, and tourist locations. From 20,000 vehicles a day to 1 a week, road depending, it isn’t unusual to see only a few vehicles at a time. I have driven it at night and not seen another set of headlights for several minutes. It can be a lonely road. It can be a deadly road.

Dark, and narrow at times, there have been mudslides, rockslides, and crossing animals which have taken the vehicles, and lives, of travelers’ since the road was laid, at a cost that often involved the sweat, blood, and souls of those who worked on it.

Aptly named the Highway of Tears, a stretch of this road has had predators of another sort active alongside the bears, and coyotes, and wolves. Viscous and unnamed they have taken their toll on unaware travelers.

How were so many lives snuffed out? What tricks and traps were employed by these hunters of their fellow man? Acting out the stranded driver with car problems, perhaps a trucker who stopped to help, maybe a local who commuted and came to aid. Candy, drugs, jerry cans, the promise of a phone or a local gas station just ahead. Like Ted Bundy, or Cliff Olson, serial killers often have a certain charisma and ability to manipulate their victims.

Perhaps it was timing, waiting to find the right opportunity. Perhaps they sabotaged vehicles in a parking lot. Perhaps it was more than one person, one motive, or one method. What is known is that hundreds, thousands of mothers, sisters, and daughters have died, or disappeared, and left sorrow, confusion, sadness, and madness in the wake.

The sheer level of the loss, the fact that there have been no convictions in the case of so many, indicates the level of apathy towards human life blended with a level of criminal cunning to get away with it. There walk amongst us monsters.

Some have suggested that Cliff Olson was responsible for some of the victims. The Beast of B.C.. Other’s have blamed locals and decried sick practices. Millions of dollars, hundreds of thousands of hours, thousands of officers and concerned citizen’s have been focused on finding answers.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Only suffering and loss orchestrated by monsters; it did not “just happen.”

<<END SONG: THE SMITHS – SUFFER LITTLE CHILDREN>>

investigation
Like

About the Creator

ADHD Accountant

I enjoy writing, fountain pens, excel, and helping people.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.