'Finding David': RCMP highlight case of boy killed in 1978 on National Missing Children's Day

The remains of a boy killed almost 40 years ago are still unaccounted for, and RCMP say the case underscores how important it is for parents to talk to their kids about how to stay safe this National Missing Children's Day.

"Thirty-eight years is a long time not knowing where your son is," RCMP Sgt. Paul Manaigre said, describing the disappearance of David Bruce Wiebe as a "nightmare scenario."

"As a parent myself I can only imagine what they've been going through … They want some closure."

Wiebe, 13, went missing in the summer of 1978. His mother told investigators he'd gone out on his bike. He was never seen alive again.

Wiebe's friend, Dale Goertzen, was arrested in 1995 and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He was given a life sentence and is still in prison.

Manaigre said parents need to use Wiebe's story as a way of better preparing their children.

"This is a stark reminder … to teach your children, the ones you're looking after, your loved ones, the safeties of online concerns, drugs, strangers, everything," Manaigre said.

'Needle in a haystack'

The RCMP's Missing and Exploited Persons Unit formed about a year ago and is working to locate Wiebe's remains. The unit focuses on cases involving vulnerable individuals, victims of human trafficking as well as unidentified human remains.

Roughly 7,500 people are reported missing every year in Manitoba. Most cases don't involve abductions or murders and are solved in the short-term, but a handful every year turn into long-term investigations.

The unit is currently investigating almost 150 long-term missing persons cases in Manitoba that date back decades, said Sgt. Bobby Baker with the unit.

"Manitoba is vast," he said. "For our long-term missing people … most of those are because of the vast wilderness that we have.

"It's a bit of a needle in a haystack."

Baker said members of the unit follow up with affected families to ensure DNA evidence and dental records are obtained where possible to help with investigations.

'Wound that doesn't heal'

He's been in touch with the Wiebes about the search for their son. Even after almost four decades, the family remains deeply hurt that David's body has never been found, Baker said.

"Speaking with the family, it is painful and there is a wound that doesn't heal," Baker said.

"Somebody is in jail and there is an answer about what happen but there's not closure there in finding David. He was a young person and that is a priority. There's nothing more important than kids."

Baker refused to say whether Goertzen has recently been co-operating with investigators or whether he has provided the location of the body.

It's important to people in his unit to resolve the case once and for all, he added.

"The more that you see how vulnerable children are, the more that you are driven to do the right thing and keep people safe," he said.

Wiebe encourages parents to use National Missing Children's Day as an opportunity to talk with their kids about how to protect themselves