A decade old investigation resulted in the arrests for two men from the Baldwinton area. (Screen shot/Google Maps)

By battlefordsNOW Staff

Decade-long search

Kidnapping, murder charges laid in 2011 missing person investigation

Feb 9, 2022 | 11:51 AM

Nearly 10 years after Edward (Ted) Keith Geddes was last seen, two men who were known to him are charged with kidnapping and first degree murder in relation to his death.

Fifty-eight year-old Robert “Bob” Welsey Pich and 70-year-old John Robert Gregoire were charged this week. The accused both hail from the Baldwinton area, where Geddes was also from, roughly 50 minutes west of the Battlefords.

The victim was 64-years-old when he was last seen in April, 2011, in the Baldwinton, Sask. area. When RCMP officers went to his residence as part of an unrelated incident, they located his dog dead in the entranceway, which was not from natural causes.

Insp. Josh Graham, acting officer in charge of Saskatchewan RCMP Major Crimes said in a release that Geddes’ disappearance was believed to be suspicious in nature shortly after that discovery. Concentrated investigative efforts were renewed in 2021 by the Saskatchewan RCMP Historical Case Unit (HCU), with the assistance of the RCMP Major Crimes Unit (MCU).

After a nearly year-long investigation by the HCU, arrests were made on Feb. 6. Other units providing assistance included Cut Knife RCMP and the RCMP Forensic Identification Section.

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Both Pich and Gregoire are charged with first degree murder and kidnapping with a firearm. Pich has an additional charge of careless use of a firearm, while Gregoire also faces one count of indecently interfering with human remains.

The two made their first appearance in North Battleford Provincial Court on Tuesday and will next appear on March 8.

Graham said people responsible for these types of crimes are wrong to assume the police aren’t investigating them.

“This is just one example that demonstrates the continued perseverance and commitment of our homicide investigators in helping bring a sense of closure for the family and friends of victims of homicide in Saskatchewan,” he said. “Even if that takes nearly 10 years, as with this case.”

Search warrants were executed yesterday at a rural property outside the community of Baldwinton. There will be an increased police presence in this area for the next day.

“This investigation is still ongoing because Ted has not been located,” Graham said. “We want to bring that closure to his family, so our investigators will continue to work diligently to try and locate Ted and bring him home.”

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cjnbnews@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW