The Investigation: Whitewater Murder Mystery

Wilson approached Detective Foster of Brandon, relating what he knew about the mystery. The detective advised him to write the attorney-general’s office in Winnipeg in order to open an official investigation.

Despite letter from Buckingham and Wilson to the attorney general, it was days before action was taken. Finally, E.J. Elliot, the chief of the Manitoba Provincial police, was appointed to head the investigation into the disappearance of Daw and Smith. The fact that foul play was suspected is indicated by the number of senior police officials Elliot brought with him on October 7 to the Whitewater-area farm. Accompanying Elliot were Chief Detective Carpenter of Montreal, Winnipeg Police Chief J.C. McRae, Detective Foster of Brandon and Detective Cox of Portage la Praine. Another 50 local; men were recruited to help search the area in the vicinity of the Daw farm.

Elliot arrived at the farm, centering his search in a nearby ravine. But a dried-up and earth-filled well about 75 meters south of the farmhouse eventually attracted Elliott’s attention. He directed some men to start digging in that spot. The men quickly came upon a human leg against the side of the well that was covered by only a few centimeters of soil. Just over a meter down, the diggers uncovered the carcass of Smith’s pet dog and immediately under the dog were found Smith’s body. The next body unearthed was Daw’s whose leg the digger first unrecovered.

Whitewater Coroner, Dr. Schaffer, did initial examination of the badly decomposed bodies, immediately after they were removed from the well. For his examination, the bodies were laid out on a make shift platform he erected. The doctor discovered two bullet wounds in Daw’s body and wounds caused by several shotgun pellets were found in Smiths’s back. The bodied were in such an advanced state of decomposition that Daw had to be identified using visiting cards found in his pocket, while Smith was identified by a truss he was known to always wear.

Dr. R.J. Campbell of Boissevain in his post mortem examination in Whitewater found there were three perforations to Daw’s skull, resulting from two bullets.

Dr. Lawrence of Boissevain later confirmed that Smith had been shot in the neck with a shotgun, citing as evidence several pellets removed from the top vertebrae. The doctor said the fact Sminth’s head so easily detached from the body, during the transportation to the on-site platform used to examine the bodies, was further evidence that the farmer had been shot in the neck.

The doctor found a hole in the right side of Daw’s skull, another in the right side of the temple and one on the left temple and one on the left temple where a bullet had exited. Another bullet wound had been found in the center of the forehead. The 32-calibre bullet which caused this hole was found in the skull were sufficient to cause death.

Immediately suspicion centered on Gordon, whom Elliott immediately feel was responsible for the double murder. He dispatched Detective Foster to the Dakota territory in the United States investigate a clue that Gordon had fled across the border on Sunday, September 30, to escape justice.

“Every effort is being put forth to apprehend the murderer” announced the Portage la Praine News and Review on October 12, 1990, “and a reward has been offered by the attorney general’s department for his arrest.”

Circulars describing Gordon were sent out to police departments across Canada and US. The reward offered was $300 and the description posted said Gordon was 5-foot-7, 165 pounds, with a straight build, blue eyes and clean-shaven with black hair. Distinguishing features were a gold-capped front tooth, dark eyebrows and a full fleshy face.

“Has fashion of pulling his nose when talking,” the reward posters announced. “Walks with a swagger.”

Before leaving Whitewater, Gordon was rumoured to have taken the precaution to destroy all papers and photographs that could be used to identify him.

Herbert Ellis said Gordon was carrying some drawings and pictures made by Daw’s sister in England that she had sent to her brother. Ellis said he had seen these items in Gordon’s possession during a visit to the farm after Daw’s disappearance,

“Surely Daw did not sell you those,”Ellis Asked Gordon at the time.

“Of course he did,” replied Gordon.

“He sold me everything in the place.”

“Witness said Gordon left Whitewater driving a buggy pulled by a brown mouse-coloured mare…in very poor condition.”

Soon after the reward was announced, Gordon was reported to have been seen in various locations across Manitoba. In one instance, the suspect was allegedly seen by the bridge keeper at the Loiuse Bridge in Winnipeg to be heading in the direction of East Selkrik, according to an October 13, 1990, Morning Telegram report.

The bridge keeper said he thought nothing of the man riding the mouse-coloured horse using a blanket in place of a saddle until he saw a description of Gordon published the next day. He said the description of Gordon “tallied in every way with the rider.”

This sighting was discounted as it was over 260 kilometers to Winnipeg from Whitewater, a distance virtually impossible for a horse in “very poor condition” to travel in such a short period of time.

“Where is the buggy is a question which would naturally be asked?” the Telegram skeptically queried when confronted with the claim that Gordon was riding a horse and not seated in the buggy used in the escape from Whitewater.

Another sighting in Winnipeg was allegedly at the Woodbine Hotel along Main Street where Gordon was said to be drinking a beer at the bar. An investigation proved the man at the bar was about 40 years older than Gordon.

S.R. Hambley, the local manager of the Canada Cycle and Motor Company, said a young man cam to his store and hired a “wheel” (bicycle), promising to return it at 4 p.m. the same day, but failed to reappears. Ham be difficult for him to ride the “wheel” as he had two bullets wounds. Staff at the store laughed at this assertion, but the man showed them a wound in his thigh and another in his kneecap. While the man showed them his wounds, the staff reported they noticed revolvers in both his pockets. Hambley later said the wounds reappeared to be about two weeks old.

When shown a likeness of Gordon, the staff claimed the man who came into the shop was identical to it down to the gold-filled tooth. Each member of the staff was prepared to swear the man who hired the “wheel” was Gordon.

A man answering the same description was observed at O’Meara’s Lodging House, situated a few doors down from the CPR depot. In the morning, the man gave the proprietor a $772 cheque to cash and left before it was converted into money. The cheque was drawn on A.R. Garden’s account in the Scandia American Bank of Crookston, Minnesota, dated October 2, and payable to A.R. Gordon who endorsed the cheque.

Gordon’s so-called double was earlier reported to be staying at McRae’s Hotel in Letellier, where he told the proprietor he had just returned from the Philippines after a stint in the U.S. Army. The proprietor was so impressed by the man, who gave his name as A.R. Gordon, that he advanced him fare to Winnipeg.