Written by Tom Masich
Special to The Citizen
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Sunday, 28 June 2009 |
Twenty years ago this month, June 10 at 11 p.m., an 18-year-old youth set aside his books from studying for an important year-end math exam. He rose from his desk, donned his jogging gear, grabbed his Walkman with a freshly cut tape and informed his mom that he was going for a short run and would be home soon.
He left his home at 478 Patterson St. and headed to Fifth. Avenue. Turning right on Fifth, he proceeded to Ospika Boulevard and continued toward 15th Avenue. He was recognized by several different parties along Ospika.
At Aleza Crescent he dropped by the home of one of a friend and spoke briefly to a number of people then continued his run. At 15th he turned left, and continued on that path to Ahbau Street. Turning right at Eighth Avenue he passed by Spruceland Theatre (now Sport Mart) and was recognized by several people just clearing the theatre.
At Central he headed toward Fifth Avenue, turned left onto Fifth and was recognized by a service-station attendant as he ran by. It appeared that he was going to cross Fifth at Ahbau. At this point he was five blocks from home, headed home. He was never seen alive after that point.
Alriguez (Al) Rivas, one of B.C.’s finest junior track stars, a strong academic and an aspiring scholarship athlete, seemed to disappear into thin air.
The following day I was having a meeting at my home, ironically with another coach of the Prince George Track and Field Club who was an RCMP officer, and he and I were selecting the B.C. Summer Games team. The phone rang and it was Mrs. Rivas, Al’s mother, asking if I had seen Al or knew where he was. I had not seen or talked to Al since about 4 p.m. the day of his disappearance. She informed me that Al had never been out all night, and normally called her several times a day if he was away.
After finishing our team selection, the other coach, Leari Gaiery, headed for work for his evening shift. I immediately called several of Al’s friends and we began a search to locate him. Mrs. Rivas reported her missing son to the RCMP and the following day, June 12, many friends and others began a city-wide search for him.
Following three days of searching there were no clues to his whereabouts and the searches dwindled to that of some close friends and myself. For the next several days I arose each morning and searched his route. Two weeks to the day of his disappearance I found a cassette tape in tall grass near the entrance of the alley between Moffat and Lyon streets. I showed the tape to Cory Watts, Al’s closest friend. On seeing it he asked me where I got Al’s tape. I related the story of finding it and we went to see Al’s mother, who dug out a box of cassette tapes and several of them had identical titles saying "Various Tunes." It was customary for Al to cut a new tape and title it as such. We turned the tape over to the RCMP but nothing ever came of it, as they told us they had misplaced it.
At the time of his disappearance Al was wearing his B.C. team track suit.
In October of that year some boys four-by-fouring by the Fraser River near Red Rock noticed clothes hanging in
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some trees at what would have been high water mark in 1989. The boys called the police and after several tries convinced them to come to the scene.
It turned out that the clothes were collected by the constable and later identified by Mrs. Rivas and myself as Al’s, as they had the B.C. track team crest. Some body parts were still in the clothing.
At that time, rumours surfaced that Al may have committed suicide. This was based on the fact he and his girlfriend had broken up a week before.
This was absolutely disputed by his many friends and myself then as it is now. First, Al hated the water, and was even afraid to enter a swimming pool. He even told me once that if he bathed he would exit the tub before pulling the plug as he was scared of the draining water.
At the time of his disappearance and for some weeks, after a fund was taken up in his memory. In early 1990 it was turned over to the Prince George Track and Field Club to be administered. The amount was topped up to $10,000 and is still in existence. Each year our club recovers the interest and tops it up to assist graduating athletes of our organization
This year the total distributed over the years will exceed $30,000. We hope this and Al’s memory continue for many more years.
We also hope the truth of his mysterious disappearance will surface soon.
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 28 June 2009 )
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