Who: Tommy (Babe) Price, 13
What: Homicide -- broken neck and axe wound to back of head
When: Last seen Feb. 2, 1958, leaving a bowling alley in Campbell River
Where: Body found Feb. 3, 1958, floating in the ocean near Campbell River's Argonaut Wharf
Tommy (Babe) Price's watch stopped at 9:26 p.m. on Feb. 2, 1958, and likely so did his life.
Four hours earlier, he'd been leaving his job at a bowling alley in Campbell River. But instead of arriving home to family at the Weiwaikum First Nation, the 13-year-old was found floating in the water the next day with a broken neck and an axe wound in the back of his head.
What happened in the four hours between when Price left work and when his watch stopped -- probably as he was thrown in the water?
The mystery is now 50 years old. The Price case remains one of the oldest unsolved homicides on Vancouver Island, according to a past RCMP Island District unsolved homicides and missing persons report obtained by the ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½.
(The RCMP did not provide a more recent and comprehensive list, saying it would be unfair to the families of the victims.)
A teenager out on a fishing trip found Price's body floating offshore near Campbell River's Argonaut Wharf on Feb. 3, 1958.
At first, police thought he might have fallen into the water. But an examination by a pathologist concluded he was dead before ending up in the ocean.
Someone had broken Price's neck and left a five-centimetre gash in the back of his head, the pathologist found.
"The wound was clean, indicating it had been caused by a sharp instrument, such as an axe," the Victoria Daily Times reported at the time.
Police appealed for help from anyone who had seen Price that night. The teenager set pins at the local bowling alley in an age before machines took over the job.
He was last seen around 5:15 p.m. on Feb. 2, the Times reported. The bowling alley was only a four-minute walk from his home at the Weiwaikum First Nation.
A coroner's jury blamed persons unknown for the death of Price.
Dr. Ross G.D. McNeely told the jury Price's death had been caused by "severe injury at the back of the head and a clean cut about three inches long at the level of the ear, possibly made by a single blow, maybe by an axe or sharp instrument," the Daily Colonist reported.
Thirty-three years later, police decided to take another look at the case.
Campbell River RCMP opened a file on his death in 1991.
Detachment commander Insp. Lyle Gelinas told the ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ his officers recently researched the Price file at the newspaper's request.
However, Gelinas did not return a call for comment yesterday to explain what, if anything, the RCMP discovered in its search.
Price's nephew Larry said it would be nice to get closure on the case after all these years.
Other family members and friends said they'd prefer not to talk about it because the case stirs up too many bad memories.
Rob Shaw can be reached at 250-380-5350 or [email protected]
SPECIAL REPORT: PART SIX OF SIX
During this week, ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ reporters Rob Shaw and Lindsay Kines have highlighted several unsolved cases of missing or murdered people from the Island, and examine new techniques being used to solve old crimes.
Monday: How a young North Vancouver mother of two ended up strangled to death on the Island 24 years ago.
Tuesday: The baffling disappearance of 17-year-old Carmen Robinson.
Wednesday: How a mysterious call from "Mr. Murdoch" ended in murder.
Thursday: Why detectives hope playing cards hold the key to cracking a 20-year-old murder of two Oak Bay High school grads in Washington.
Yesterday: Minutes after his routine physical at CFB Esquimalt, a strapping 17-year-old cadet was found lying near Admirals Road with a severe injury.
Today: In 1958, Tommy (Babe) Price was dumped in the ocean with
a broken neck, and an axe wound to his head. He was just 13.
Missed a story? Read the series online at timescolonist.com.
Have a tip? If you have information that might help solve these cases,
you can reach Lindsay Kines at 250-381-7890 or [email protected] and Rob Shaw at 250-380-5350 or [email protected].
