Canadas Daughter: The Melanie Carpenter Story

She was supposed to be safe at work. But in the middle of a normal Friday afternoon, Melanie Carpenter vanished from a Surrey tanning salon — leaving behind her car, her belongings, and a community searching for answers. This week on Valley of Secrets, we revisit the case that shook B.C. and became known as the story of Canada’s daughter.

https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/february-4-1995-page-2-120/docview/2241838496/se-2

https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/january-19-1995-page-4-112/docview/3212229008/se-2

https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/february-1-1995-page-3-48/docview/2242077726/se-2

https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/january-16-1995-page-5-72/docview/3212168478/se-2

https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/january-17-1995-page-3-52/docview/2241997499/se-2

https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/january-29-1995-page-10-160/docview/3212134466/se-2

https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/january-16-1995-page-2-36/docview/2241586786/se-2

https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/february-7-1995-page-16-48/docview/2241851171/se-2

https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/february-1-1995-page-6-80/docview/3212194379/se-2

https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/january-28-1995-page-8-68/docview/2264779611/se-2

https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/january-20-1995-page-10-136/docview/3212198376/se-2

https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/january-29-1995-page-11-160/docview/3212134478/se-2

https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/january-24-1995-page-14-88/docview/3212239881/se-2

https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/january-8-1995-page-5-144/docview/3212380250/se-2

https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/january-15-1995-page-4-152/docview/3212249445/se-2

https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/january-9-1995-page-4-72/docview/3212413508/se-2

https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/january-10-1995-page-3-40/docview/2241799716/se-2

https://crimeimmemorial.com/2023/02/01/melanie-carpenter/

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey everyone, welcome to Valley of Secrets. I'm Nikki Ruth. If you're new, welcome. I'm so glad that you have come to join. Today's case takes us back to January of 1995, to Fleetwood, a neighborhood inside of Surrey, British Columbia. It starts inside a small tanning salon in a busy strip mall. The lights are on, the door is unlocked, and a customer has walked in expecting to make an appointment. But what she finds is that the cash register is left open, and a young woman who is supposed to be working there is gone. Within hours, her disappearance is being treated as an abduction. Her face is everywhere, on the news, in the papers, and on posters. Across Surrey, people are searching, calling in tips, and tying yellow ribbons hoping that she will be brought home alive. This becomes one of those cases that does not just affect one family, it shakes an entire community, because it happened in broad daylight in a public place on an ordinary Friday afternoon. And for nearly three weeks, everyone in the Fraser Valley and Greater Vancouver area is asking the same question. Where is she? This is the story of Melanie Carpenter. Melanie Gail Carpenter was born on April 22nd, 1971, to Steve and Sandy Carpenter. She was the oldest child in the family, four years older than her sister Cindy, and to her family, Melanie was simply Mel. Cindy describes her and Mel as complete opposites, but yet they were incredibly close. In their family, Cindy says that Mel was known as the angel and Cindy was known as the devil. Mel was quiet, humble, and gentle. She did not like attention, and Cindy remembers her as somewhat naive in the way that she saw the world. Cindy, on the other hand, was more of a tomboy. She was strong-willed, a bit of a troublemaker, and fiercely protective of her older sister. And even though their personalities were different, their bond was strong. Cindy remembers Mel as someone who loved animals, family, and the simple comforts of home. She had a pet rabbit, along with dogs and cats, and she cared deeply for the people and the animals around her. She enjoyed cooking for others and was remembered as a gentle, caring, and easy-to-love person. The Carpenter girls were first raised in Coquitlam on Dansey Avenue. When Mel was around 12 or 13 years old, the family moved to Mission, and not long after, Steve and Sandy separated. The girls stayed with their dad and moved a few times as he settled after his divorce. Cindy describes those years as tough, but through all of the changes, she and Mel had each other. Their bond was the kind only sisters really understand. They would climb into each other's beds at night, tickle each other's backs, and just hang out together. They were close enough that they could finish each other's sentences. And even though their personalities were so different, there was always this deep connection between them. Mel was the quieter one, and Cindy was the more outspoken one. But in those years of moving, adjusting, and trying to make sense of changes in their family, the two sisters became each other's safe place. As Mel got older, she wanted to go and live with her mom Sandy. So around 1987 or 88, she moved to Fleetwood, and Cindy soon followed. Both girls attended Frankhurt Secondary School, and in grade 12, Mel met the love of her life, Erin Bastion, at a party. Mel was active and athletic. She played sports including softball and volleyball, and as a child, she had been involved in gymnastics. According to Cindy, Mel had been a lower mainland gymnastics champion in Vault and Beam at the junior B level, and she had placed 10th in British Columbia. But even with all of those accomplishments, Mel was not someone who seemed to seek the spotlight. She was quieter and softer, the kind of person who could be deeply loved without ever needing to be the loudest person in the room. When Mel was 19, her little brother Stephen was born. Although there was a huge difference in age, Cindy describes their relationship as special. Mel used to babysit her brother, and Cindy recalls a time when Stephen locked himself in the bathroom while Mel was babysitting. When she finally got into the bathroom, Steven had toothpaste and shaving cream all over him. But it was a great memory. By January of 1995, Melanie was 23 years old. She was five foot four with long blonde hair, hazel eyes, and a petite frame. She and Aaron had been together for six years and the two were engaged. Around that time, Aaron and her were living in Aaron's parents' basement suite in Surrey so that they could save some money. But according to Cindy, by January of 1995, they had moved into their own basement suite. They were young, they were building towards something together: a home, a marriage, and a future. Aaron later said that Melanie wanted a family life. She wanted to stay home one day, and she wanted children. That was the life that they had planned and talked about. And on the morning of Friday, January 6, 1995, it began like any other day. Melanie drives Aaron to the Scott Road Skies train station around seven in the morning. It's still dark outside and the roads are wet from all the rain. Aaron is heading into Vancouver for work, and before he leaves, he gives her a kiss, tells her he loves her, and she smiles back at him. Then Melanie drives back home to get ready for her own shift. She works at Island Tan Tanning Studios in Fleetwood, which is located in the Evergreen Strip Mall. Melanie is working alone that day. And that detail matters because, according to reporting, her mother Sandy had worried about Melanie being in the salon by herself. And as much as Mel did not like attention, she still received it. People would come into the salon and make comments to her or call out things like, Hey Blondie, which she hated. There were times when those interactions made Mel feel uneasy and scared. Enough that she would call Aaron and he would come to the salon just to be with her and ease her fears. From everything that I have read and talked to Cindy about, Aaron seemed like the perfect guy, if there is such a thing. Their love was to be admired. On the morning of January 6th, nothing immediately seemed wrong. Customers come in, appointments happen, it feels like a regular workday, and nothing that stands out as suspicious to Melanie at the time. Then shortly after lunch, the phone rings. A man who calls himself Frank Sheldon says he represents a group of Japanese businessmen who were interested in buying an Island tan franchise. He tells Melanie that the group wants to inspect the tanning beds and asks whether the salon could be closed for a period of time so that they can look privately. He tells Melanie he will be there at 1 p.m. Melanie immediately calls Gary Marshall, her boss, who is at the other Island Tan location in Newton, a location that her sister Cindy was actually working at. Gary tells Melanie that he's on his way over and he gets there about 15 minutes later. When the man calls again, Melanie hands the phone to Gary. Gary later describes the caller as soft-spoken and articulate, but this time Frank cancels the appointment and says someone in the group had become ill over lunch, and that he would call again later to reschedule. A few minutes after that, the phone rang one more time. This time, the caller says the meeting can still happen, but asks if Gary can go and pick up some more d'oeuvres. Gary declines and asks the caller for his phone number. The caller does not give it and the call ends. Looking back, Gary believes the caller may have been trying to get him out of the salon so that Melanie would be alone again. At the time, though, it does not set off alarm bells for him or for Melanie. Gary later said that they thought it was strange, but not necessarily dangerous, and Melanie even laughed it off. At about 1 30, Gary leaves the Island Tan location and returns to the Newton Village one. About an hour after Gary leaves is when that customer comes into Island Tan and finds the salon empty and the cash register open. Confused, the customer calls Gary Marshall to tell him that no one is there. Now, this is the time before cell phones were super popular, so I'm guessing that she actually just called the other Newton location to let him know. Gary rushes over immediately and he finds that there's about $250 missing from the till. He sees that Melanie's jacket and bag are still there and her car is still parked outside. But Melanie and her purse are gone. Police are called immediately. Surrey RC ⁇ P begin investigating, and one of the officers leading the case is Corporal Frank Henley. For Melanie's dad Steve, there is a personal connection there. Steve and Frank had gone to school together, and in the middle of the worst experience of Steve's life, that familiarity mattered. It does not make the investigation easier or doesn't take away the fear, but it means Steve is working with someone that he knows, someone he trusts, someone who understands that Melanie is not just a file or a case number. From what Cindy has shared, Steve and Corporal Henley worked well together to find Melanie. There was communication, respect, and a shared urgency to bring Melanie home. Before police publicly released the abduction, Mel's sister Cindy is reporting to her shift at the Newton Island Tan location. She states that when she walked into work, a friend and co-worker Lori asked Cindy, Why are you here? News had spread about Mel's abduction, and Cindy had known nothing about it. So from that moment, she goes home and waits for her mom to return from work, which was at BC Hydro in Vancouver. Cindy described finding out about Mel was like an out-of-body experience. She was numb, scared, and had no idea what to do in that moment. The last time Cindy spoke to Mel was actually on New Year's Eve. Mel had come into the Newton Island tan location when Cindy was working, excited to show her the costume she was wearing to a New Year's Eve party that night. She was dressed as a hippie, and for Cindy, it became the last time she would see Mel in a happy, ordinary moment, smiling, dressed up, and just being herself. Meanwhile, RCMP appealed to the public, including other business owners who may have received strange calls from someone claiming to represent Japanese investors. And then the first major clue comes very quickly. Melanie's bank card is used at the Scotia Bank, right near Island Tan. A bank machine camera captures a man withdrawing $300 from Melanie's account with a red Hyundai car in the background. Cindy revealed that a witness later came forward saying that they saw Melanie in the red car and that she looked out of it. The fact is that Melanie must have been with it enough to provide this man her bank pin number. My suspicion is that he had told her that he would release her if she told him the pin number. Maybe he told her all he wanted was money. But unfortunately, that did not happen. The image of this man is released publicly. He is described as balding with a mustache, somewhat disheveled and possibly driving a red Hyundai hatchback. For Melanie's family, this is a nightmare unfolding in public. As Melanie's disappearance is becoming public, her father Steve Carpenter steps forward as one of the strongest voices in the search for her. Steve is described as a big burly man who meant business, someone who knew how to get things done. He had once been a commercial fisherman in Nova Scotia, and that is where he met Sandra, or Sandy. Eventually the two moved to British Columbia, married, and started their family. Steve later worked as a fishing guide. And from the way Cindy describes him, his life really came down to two things: his girls and fishing. So when Melanie is taken, Steve does what any father does. He moves, he organizes, he speaks, he pushes, he refuses to let his daughter's name fade into the background. He offers a $20,000 reward for Mel's safe return, and later it increases to $50,000. The Bring Melanie home campaign begins, and almost immediately people from across the lower mainland step forward to help. Volunteers answer tip phones and they search all the wooded areas. They hand out posters. And Melanie's face, like I said, is everywhere, on the news, in the newspapers, and across communities that are now watching this case unfold in real time. This is one of those cases where the public reaction is immediate and deeply emotional. People do not know Melanie personally, but they know her face. They know her family is pleading for her to come home, and they know that a young woman has vanished from work in the middle of the day. But while the media attention is intense, the Carpenter family does not remember every reporter as cold and intrusive. In fact, Cindy has shared that many members of the media were good to the family. They were present in a way that felt human, and some even cried with them and stayed close. They were not only covering a story, they were witnessing what this family was living through. And I think that is an important part of Melanie's case, because the media played a major role in keeping her name and face in front of the public. But for the Carpenter family, some of those reporters also became part of the circle of people standing beside them during those unbearable weeks of wondering where Melanie was. Behind the scenes, investigators are also working to identify the man captured on the bank machine footage. Within about a week, that man is identified as 37-year-old Fernand Edmund Augur. Augur was originally from Ontario, but by this point he had been living in Alberta. According to reporting, he had worked as a waiter in a Chinese food restaurant in Calgary and had been living in the apartment above that restaurant. And when police began looking into his background, they realize Augur had actually just been released from prison in August the year prior, after serving two-thirds of a two-year sentence for armed robbery and was on parole. He had been in and out of prison since the 1970s and had been convicted of sexual offenses, sodomy, impaired driving, and robbery. This is where Melanie's case becomes part of a much larger conversation happening in Canada at that time about dangerous offenders, statutory release, parole, and whether the justice system had enough tools to keep high-risk offenders from harming the public. Because Auger was not someone who had simply appeared out of nowhere after Melanie disappeared. He was a man known with a criminal history. He was supposed to be under surveillance. And yet, somehow he was able to leave Alberta, travel to British Columbia, and become the main suspect in the abduction of a young woman working alone in Surrey in broad daylight. On January 1st, 1995, just days before Melanie disappears, Augur rents a 1984 Red Hyundai XL in Calgary. According to reporting, he uses a friend's credit card number to do so. And from there, he drives west and eventually ends up in Fleetwood outside of Island Tan. It was later believed that Augur may have been sleeping in his car in the parking lot near the salon, which raises the possibility that he'd been in the area before January 6th. If that is true, then this may not have been completely an impulsive encounter. He may have seen Melanie before, he may have been watching the salon, and he may have realized that she was working alone that day. And that possibility is chilling. Because that fake business call already suggested planning. The request to close the salon suggests planning. And if Augur had been sitting nearby in the days leading up to the abduction, then it raises even more questions about how long Melanie had been under his radar. On January 8th, reports and surveillance cameras place Augur back in Alberta at a Tim Hortons in Lethbridge, where he is said to have harassed two young girls. The next day, January 9th, a warrant is issued for breach of parole. And it is not hard to feel frustrated when you look at that timeline. Because by the time officials realize Augur has breached his parole, Melanie has already been taken. That is one of the reasons this case caused so much public anger. It was not only about what happened to Melanie, it was also about the question that came after. How was he out of prison? How was he being supervised? And how did no one realize sooner that he was gone? By January 13th, Fernand Auger is publicly named as the main suspect in Melanie's abduction. But Melanie is still missing. And the question that has never had a satisfying answer is why? Why Surrey? Why Island Tan? And why Melanie? Was this truly random? Did he choose the business because Melanie was alone? Had he seen her before? Did he call other places other than the salon? The actual motive remains unclear because Augur will never stand trial, he will never be questioned in court, and he will never be forced to answer for what happened. Because on January 15th, 1995, a real estate agent is showing a vacant country farmhouse in High River, Alberta, and finds the rented red Hyundai in the garage. Inside the car is the partially frozen body of Fernand Auger, reclined in the driver's seat. He has taken his own life through carbon monoxide poisoning. Inside the vehicle, police find a suicide note written on a car inspection report from the rental car company. The note says, quote, This vehicle was obtained fraudulently by me, Fern Auger. Do not hold the credit card holder liable, signed January 9, 95. Then it continues by saying, quote, My death was chosen my way, my choice, my place and time. To my family and ex-wife, I love you, but it is better this way, end quote. There was no mention of Melanie. It does not explain what happened to her. It does not give her family the answer that they were waiting for. And that detail is so hard to sit with because by this point, police believe Augur is the man connected to Melanie's disappearance. But with him dead, the possibility of finding Melanie alive feels more fragile. And the one person who likely knows where she is has taken that information with him to the grave. Police search the area around the vacant property near High River, but they find no trace of Melanie. The red Hyundai is impounded, and investigators begin processing it for any signs of evidence that could connect Melanie to the vehicle. And I will come back to what they find inside the car in a bit, because those details do become important. But police also search Augur's apartment. What they find is not a home that feels settled or lived in. According to reporting, the apartment is sparsely furnished, and the items left behind suggest a man who had been thinking about ending his life long before Melanie was taken. Inside, police find a book about how to kill oneself, along with a written note in which Augur describes himself as powerless, lost, insecure, and unloved. They also find lottery tickets scattered across a dresser, and along with a booklet about how to Get rich. And nearby, there's a photo album holding images from what appeared to be happier times for Augur. Pictures from his wedding and his honeymoon. But Augur and his wife Brenda had divorced the previous April. And when you look at all of those details together, a picture begins to form of a man whose life was unraveling. The search for Melanie continues, and Steve continues to speak publicly. He tells the media he believes that his daughter is alive. He says that he would feel it if she were gone. And he is holding on to the bond he has with his child because at that point, hope is the only thing that he has left. And meanwhile, the public keeps watching. This is 1995 before social media, before Amber alerts are done in the way that we know them now, and before every person had a phone in their back pocket. News moved through television, newspaper, radio, and word of mouth, and they were getting updates every hour in the papers and on TV, and the family was pleading for her return. Then late on Thursday, January 26th, a call comes in. It is around 10 p.m. at the Surrey Inn, where Steve has set up and helped direct the Bring Melanie home operation. For nearly three weeks, this has been the place where tips are received, notes are taken, and hope is kept alive one call at a time. That night, the call is answered by Rick Butler, Melanie's godfather and Steve's best friend. On the other end of the line is a man calling from the Fraser Canyon. He explains that his son and another man have been near the river in Yale, British Columbia, when they came across something covered by a blanket. At first it may have looked like discarded material, maybe old rope or fishing nets. At least that is what Art Took and Steve Emery had been hoping to find that day, abandoned rope and nets that could possibly be repaired and used for the next fishing season. But when they looked beneath the blanket, they found a woman's body. A woman with blonde hair. And both men thought of Melanie right away. According to reporting in the Vancouver province, Rick Butler is taking notes as the caller speaks. But as soon as he hears the description, Steve sees his friend turn white as a ghost. And in that moment, before police have confirmed anything, Steve says he could feel a shiver run through him. And in that second, he knows the hope that he has been carrying for almost three weeks begins to collapse into something else. Steve later describes the emptiness he feels that night as gut-wrenching. And that same night he dreams of Melanie for the first time since she disappeared. In the dream, she does not speak. She just smiles at him. He remembers her eyes and he remembers her smile. And to Steve, it feels as if Melanie has come to say goodbye. What an amazing moment that must have felt for him. He also shares that Aaron had experienced a similar dream from a couple weeks earlier, another quiet and painful detail that stays with the family after Melanie is found. The area where the body is discovered is near Yale, which is about 160 kilometers northeast of Vancouver in the Fraser Canyon. It is remote and steep, close to the Fraser River, the kind of place someone could pass without realizing that anything had been hidden there. Melanie's body had been left in a crevice and covered with a white comforter. The next morning, January 27th, police confirm what the family already feared. The body was Melanie Carpenter. She is found fully clothed, with her hands tied behind her back with heavy shoelaces and a cord. The autopsy report that was shared by Cindy states that she had been stabbed 23 times, once for every year of her life, and that she had actually been sexually assaulted after death. The police believe that she had been killed within hours of her abduction. That means that while the family was pleading and volunteers were searching, rewards were being offered, Melanie was likely already gone. And that is one of the most painful parts of this case. Her loved ones were fighting to bring her home alive, and they had every reason to keep fighting because they did not know. They were doing what families do when their loved ones are missing. They keep hope alive because there was no proof yet that she was gone. According to the Vancouver Sun, a knife is found close to the body and was sent for DNA testing. Although I couldn't find any information if the DNA came back with anything with auger or Melanie's DNA on it. Her purse is also found close to the body with $20 cash and rings inside, but her bank card is missing. And that matters because it suggests that this wasn't simply about money. Yes, money was taken from the till and her bank card was used, but there were valuables left behind. And if Augur is responsible, as police in Melanie's family believe, then the theft appears to only be part of a much larger predatory crime. Melanie's private funeral was followed by a large memorial at Vancouver's Pacific Coliseum. And it shows just how deeply this case had touched everybody in BC. According to the Vancouver Sun, more than 4,000 people gathered inside the darkened arena to remember Melanie. For a private memorial service to be held in a venue that large was almost unheard of in Canada. And the service was also broadcasted live on television and on the radio. This was no longer about the grief of one family. By then, Melanie had become someone the public felt connected to with her face in the news. People followed the search and they had listened to Steve's plea for her safe return. And when the worst was confirmed, thousands came together to grieve with the Carpenter family. Aaron spoke at the memorial about the woman he loved and the future that they had lost. He described Mel as quote, innocent, pure, and warm, end quote. He said he wanted to give her everything, but all she really wanted was him and the chance to build a family together. Now he was left alone, feeling empty, and Aaron said he loved Mel more than life itself. Other family members also spoke about Melanie's beauty, her gentleness, and the deep love they had for her. They spoke about feeling lost without her, trying to put words to a loss that no words could ever really hold. Steve spoke about how she was God's daughter, and now she had become Canada's daughter. During the service, a slideshow of Melanie's life was shown, while her favorite song, Fire and Rain, by James Taylor, played. And in that stadium, surrounded by thousands of people, there was not a dry eye. It was a public goodbye, but at the heart of it was something very private. A family, a fiance, and a community trying to honor a young woman who should have had so much more life ahead of her. After her murder, Steve Carpenter becomes an advocate for change to the justice system. He and other supporters push for tougher laws around violent and sexual offenders. In February of 1995, thousands of people reportedly join a walk in Surrey in Melanie's memory and in support of the Carpenter family. Later that year, Melanie's name is raised on the House of Commons during debates about parole, dangerous offenders, and victims' rights. There are moments in true crime where the case itself ends, but the impact keeps moving. And Melanie's story did that. It moved through Surrey, it moved through British Columbia, it moved all the way to Parliament Hill. But for Melanie's family, none of that can undo what had happened. It could not bring back their daughter or their sister. It could not give Aaron the fiance and the future that he and Melanie had planned. And it could not give the carpenters a trial. Because Fernand Augur died before he could ever be arrested, charged, or brought before a court for Melanie's murder. The case never reached the place where evidence could be brought against him. Police believed Augur was responsible, and his movements in the days before and after Melanie's disappearance made him the central suspect. There were also pieces of physical evidence that connected the investigation back to the rental car. Two blonde hairs were found inside the vehicle, although testing later showed they did not belong to Melanie. According to Cindy, investigators also found napkins that had been stuffed down Mel's throat, and those napkins match once recovered from the car. Fibers from the blanket that was found with Melanie's body were also consistent with fibers located in the vehicle. And that leaves this case in a difficult place. In one sense, investigators believe they know who abducted and killed Melanie Carpenter. But in another sense, Mel's family never received the justice through the court system. There was never a moment where the person believed responsible had to stand in front of them and answer for what he had done. So even though police identified Fernand Auger as the main suspect, Melanie's case remains without a conviction, and as of now, it is considered a cold case. Today there is a memorial near the place where Melanie was found. It was created after the Melanie Carpenter Foundation approached artists connected to Capolano College. The memorial includes imagery connected to the site and to local indigenous meeting, including an eagle as a guardian figure and a salmon as a symbol connected to the Fraser River and the people who lived and fished there for thousands of years. It is a marker and is a way of saying she was here and she mattered. When I spoke with Cindy, one of the things she wanted most was for people to remember who Melanie was beyond what happened to her. She wanted Mel to be remembered as someone no one had a bad thing to say about. She was someone gentle, someone kind, someone who, in Cindy's words, was almost like an angel on earth. Mel was quiet. She was shy. She did not look for attention, even though in life and in death, attention found her. She was beautiful, but the people who loved her remember that beauty is something deeper than how she looked on the outside. It was in the way she treated people, in the way she cared for her family, and in the softness she carried through the world. And for the Carpenter family, losing Mel was not a single moment of grief. It became something that they had to carry for years. Cindy has been open about how deeply Melanie's death affected her. In the years that followed, she experienced PTSD and even sought therapy to help her work through the trauma. She's also had a lot of dreams about Mel over the years. At first, some of those dreams were painful, but over time they've become softer. Now, Cindy says, the dreams are happy ones. In one, Mel pulls up in a Jeep, smiling at her sister. Something Cindy says Mel had always wanted, a Jeep. In another, it feels as if they were old friends seeing each other again after a long time apart, and they run and hug each other, but Cindy's arms pass through her like Mel is there but not there at the same time. And that image stays with you. Two sisters who were once so close that they finished each other's sentences, still reaching for each other in dreams. The Carpenter family would face more loss in the years after Mel's death. Her father Steve passed away in 2013, and her brother Stephen passed away in 2021. According to Cindy, Steven struggled deeply after losing his older sister. And over time, he also faced mental health challenges. Sadly, Steven died from a drug overdose, leaving behind three young children. Mel's mother Sandy is now living with dementia and no longer remembers the details of Mel's death. And while that is heartbreaking in its own way, there's also some mercy in it too. After everything Sandy endured, there is a kind of gentleness in knowing that the sharpest parts of that pain no longer have to live in her memory. Aaron eventually pulled away from the Carpenter family. According to Cindy, the pain of losing Mel was simply too much for him. Cindy says that Erin never married. And while I do not know all of Aaron's story, that detail says something about the depth of what was lost. Melanie's death did not end when the search ended, or when her body was found, or when the headlines moved on. For the people who loved her, it became something they had to carry for the rest of their lives. As for Cindy, Melanie is still very much present in her memories, in her dreams, in her pictures, in the stories that she tells, and in the way she continues to make sure her sister is remembered, not just as a victim, but as Mel, the quiet, loving, beautiful soul her family adored. That's it for me today, guys. Thanks for joining me. Please don't forget to hit subscribe or follow so you don't miss an upload. And if you enjoyed this podcast, please consider leaving a five-star rating and review on whatever platform you listen on. I'll be back in two weeks with a new episode. Until then, stay safe, stay aware, stay curious.