Wanted man reported missing after 2009 airport fire ruled dead, $9M in life insurance to be paid out
Vernon Martin, then 55, was confronted with sex assault allegations days before the fire
WARNING: This story contains details of suicide and sexual assault allegations.
Almost fifteen years after flames tore through a northern B.C. airport hangar on a frigid winter day, the mystery of what happened to a man missing ever since — a man who held 16 life insurance policies worth millions and later faced sex assault charges in another province — has taken a possible final turn.
On Wednesday, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Carla Forth officially declared the man dead.
While no remains of 55-year-old Vernon Martin were ever found, Forth said evidence largely supported the notion that he perished in the blaze at a Prince George airport hangar on Dec. 19, 2009. And, Forth said, it was likely he had been there to end his life.
Her ruling came after Martin's three brothers petitioned the court to declare the 55-year-old's death and, in doing so, trigger an approximately $9-million life insurance payout. The four brothers together owned several companies with offices at the hangar where the fire occurred.
Forth declared Martin dead under the Presumption of Death Act on a balance of probabilities.
In her ruling, Forth revealed that Martin was twice confronted with sexual misconduct allegations in the days before the fire. And, that five months after the blaze, one of his sisters found a fireproof filing cabinet from his office filled with a will written three days before the fire and a handwritten letter that Forth labelled a "suicide note."
"I don't know how to say 'IM SORRY' strong enough for what I have done to you all. I hope you can find it in your heart somewhere to forgive me," it read.
The note seemed to specify how certain holdings of Martin's were to be disbursed, like shares, trucks and investments, according to Forth's decision.
"I'm a really bad person. I don't really know why I did what I did. I can't give a straight [?] answer. I start with good intentions but I carry everything way [too] far. Please forgive me if you can," the note reads.
"I love you all."
Allegations days before fire
Forth also detailed the two days leading up to Martin's disappearance.
On Dec.17, 2009, three of Martin's siblings confronted him with allegations that he had, about 20 years earlier, engaged in sexual misconduct with multiple teenage boys.
"[Martin] did not deny the allegations but attempted to explain and minimize them," Forth wrote.
She said Martin disclosed to his siblings that he had been sued by two of the complainants, and was in the middle of settlement discussions with them.
"[Martin] expressed remorse for the trouble he caused his family."
The next day, he met with the parents of the boys he allegedly assaulted, after which he "appeared calm and not upset," Forth wrote.
Early the following morning, on Dec. 19, 2009, Martin asked one of his sisters where his old will was and asked her to shred it. Forth said the sister was reluctant to do so and told her brother to shred it himself.
"[Martin] told [the sister] he had made a new will and he would put it on her desk for her to put away," Forth's ruling says.
The siblings were then having coffee in the kitchen of one of Martin's brothers — where he was staying — when someone known to the family arrived at the house and accused Martin of sexually assaulting their son when he was a teenager.
"They threatened to call the police and have [Martin] arrested. The couple's son, now an adult, wanted to have a meeting with [Martin] that evening. The confrontation lasted about one hour and [Martin] did not argue. He remained quiet and appeared defeated. Following the meeting, [Martin] sat in the kitchen and would not talk," Forth wrote.
Martin was charged with two historic sexual assault offences in Alberta a year after the fire.
One sister testified that she was concerned about Martin after the confrontation and called his family doctor, who agreed to come to the house and see him that afternoon.
But, before the doctor could arrive, Martin told his siblings he was going to the hangar office for an hour.
He was seen there by the manager of another company around 1:30 p.m., according to Forth. One hour later, smoke was first reported billowing out of a second-storey window.
When firefighters arrived on scene, they found one office so full of smoke they couldn't see inside. They began removing equipment from the hangar, but were forced to evacuate when the flames got into the roof. The firefighters didn't search the whole building because they were told no one was in there, Forth found.
She said two of Martin's brothers drove to the hangar when they heard about the fire and tried to call his cell, but that it went to voicemail.
Around 6 p.m., the hangar collapsed. The cause of the fire has never been determined.
Long, exhaustive search comes up empty
Forth outlined the years of fruitless efforts to find any trace of Martin by his family, police and insurance companies, one of which even retained a private investigator.
His truck, abandoned outside the hangar, contained his passport, ID, credit cards and more. RCMP didn't investigate the hangar until the spring, when the site had thawed.
When an expert on forensic anthropology did search the site, several months after the blaze, he reported he could not find any human remains after combing the debris for eight days. However, another expert's report found the remains may simply have been overlooked. In her ruling, Forth gave more weight to the second report.
A Mountie dog team also searched the area surrounding the hangar, but found no trace of Martin. And, searches of his credit card records, flight passenger lists, car rentals and taxi inquiries came up with nothing.
A forensic accountant further said there was no evidence Martin had surreptitiously acquired money from his personal accounts or business holdings before or after the fire.
The husband of one of Martin's cousins swore in an affidavit that he was sure he saw Martin in a Home Depot parking lot in Lloydminster, Alta., in the late summer or early fall after the fire, but Forth concluded this was a mistaken sighting.
She accepted there would have been some motive for Martin to disappear after the allegations against him were disclosed. But she also noted the 14 years of fruitless searching, as well as what she described as a general unsuitability for Martin to live a life on the lam. His siblings said he was in poor physical health and couldn't walk far.
Forth also discounted theories that Martin had been met with foul play or faked his own death.
"[He] was not aware that his family knew of the alleged historical sexual misconduct allegations until … a mere two days before his disappearance," she wrote.
"It makes little sense that [Martin] would have been able to organize his disappearance in that short period of time. A more likely explanation is that after [he] became aware that his family members had been told of his past, he decided that his life was not worth living…"
If you or someone you know is struggling, here's where to get help:
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Canada's Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call or text 988.
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Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868. Text 686868. Live chat counselling on the website.
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Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention: Find a 24-hour crisis centre.
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This guide from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health outlines how to talk about suicide with someone you're worried about.
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