24 June 2023 - Major update in the disappearance of Kenley Matheson announced today on the MissingKenley Twitter account run by filmmaker, director and producer, Ron LaMothe. He announced that a cadaver dog has indicated the existence of human remains on Melanson Mountain in the "bear caves". This is where the current number one person of interest in the case told their mother they had buried Kenley.
In 2016, Suzanne Saunders, mother of Jason Kenny (who is now Erin Smith), reported to the RCMP that sometime after Kenley's disappearance her son Jason said that Kenley was buried in the 'bear caves" on Melanson Mountain. She repeated this information to Ron LaMothe off camera in 2017 as well. Erin Smith's sibling, Toby Mae Saunders, also told LaMothe on multiple occasions that she had heard her brother, Jason Kenny, state the same thing. Their statements are corroborated by an email from an anonymous woman who wrote to Ron LaMothe in 2017 stating that at the time of Kenley's disappearance, Suzanne Saunders told her that her son said that Kenley's body was located in the 'bear caves" on Melanson Mountain. Despite this information the RCMP have never searched Melanson Mountain for Kenley's remains.
On May 23rd and 24th, Doug and Cathy Teeft of Nova Scotia K9 Rescue Team led a search on Melanson Mountain. Ron LaMothe and a reporter and photographer for The Globe and Mail participated in this search as well. On the second day of the search two local residents led the team to the spot on the mountain known as the “Bear Caves”. Within 30 minutes, “Rifle,” a cadaver dog trained specifically to find human remains, “indicated the existence of human remains at this spot.
On May 29, 2023, the findings of their search were reported to the RCMP Commissioner in Ottawa, Ontario. That same week it was also provided to the RCMP Southwest Nova Major Crimes Unit in New Minas, Nova Scotia. On June 5, 2023, Kenley’s family met with the RCMP in New Minas to request that the site be secured and processed as soon as possible by the Medical Examiner’s forensics team. According to LaMothe's tweet, "In this meeting, the head of Major Crimes for Southwest Nova asked Kenley’s family—three times—what they would do if the RCMP chose not to do a search to recover the remains, to which he was told they would hire a private forensics team to process the site".
According to LaMothe, as of today, June 23, 2023, one months since the cadaver dog search and indication of human remains in the exact spot a person of interest in the case had said he had hidden Kenley's remains, 7 years after RCMP first learned from Suzanne Saunders that this was a possible burial site for Kenley Matheson, and three weeks since Kenley's family requested the site to be secured and processed, the site has still not been processed by the Medical Examiner’s forensics unit. According to LaMothe "The RCMP lead investigator in Kenley’s case says they are actively trying to “track down” the property owner—who lives in Ontario and should be very easy to locate—for his consent to search the site, but as of today they still haven’t done so. The RCMP are also stalling the forensics work by claiming that there are insufficient grounds to obtain a search warrant."
Allan Kenley Matheson, who went by his middle name, has been missing for 30 years as of the time of this writing (June 24, 2023). September 21st of this year (2023) will mark the 31st anniversary since he disappeared without a trace. He was only two weeks into his first year at the University, located in the town of Wolfville.
Kenley Matheson grew up in Glendale, Cape Breton, and was attending the University with his younger sister, Kayrene, 18. At the time of his disappearance, Kenley Matheson was 20 years old.
If you have any information at all regarding his whereabouts please contact the Rewards for Major Unsolved Crimes Program at 1-888-710-9090. There is a $150,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest or conviction.
On the weekend of September 11th, Kenley Matheson had travelled to Corkum's Island in Lunenburg County with some friends, Tom Gordon, a British exchange student and who also lived on the 9th floor of Crowell Tower with Kenley, and Kirsten Tomlinson. The three of them stayed at Tomlinson's father's residence on Corkum's Island, returning to Wolfville on Sunday, September 13th, 1992.
He returned to Acadia, attended his classes for the week, and then attended a party in Crowell Tower on Friday, September 18. His sister, Kayrene, was in Halifax for the weekend. She returned to Wolfville on Sunday, September 20 where she spoke with Kenley in his room (904) and the two made plans to meet up the following evening, Monday, September 21, to work on some problems for the calculus class they took together Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 8:30am. Kenley never showed for the study session Monday night or his class on Tuesday morning. Sunday September 20th was the last time Kayrene saw Kenley.
On Monday, September 21st, Kenley did not show up to any of his classes. According to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, he had been to the Royal Bank in Wolfville and was last seen walking down Main Street near the Acadia Arena. The date he was last seen has always been in dispute - was it Sunday September 20th or Monday September 21st. There were only two people who stated they had seen Kenley on Monday September 21st - Todd Barker, the RA, of 9th floor Crowell Tower was originally said to be the last person to see him on Monday the 21st at around 9 or 10 pm. Kenley was reported to have been in his room at that time. Two years later, Todd Barker said that it was Sunday September 20th that he saw Kenley in his room. This is when Tom Gordon then became the last person to have seen Kenley. There have been many inconsistencies with how many times Gordon is said to have seen him that day and in what direction Kenley was heading, etc. According to bank records $20 was withdrawn from Kenley's bank account on Sunday September 20th and $20 was deposited back into his bank account on Monday September 21st. Whether or not Kenley made these transactions, in particular the $20 deposit on Monday, has never been confirmed.
Kenley Matheson has not been heard from by friends or family since Sunday September 20th, 1992 (Tom says he did not speak to Kenley on Monday September 21st when he reports seeing him on Main Street in Wolfville) and Kenley's bank account remains untouched since that $20 deposit on Monday September 21, 1992.
Taken from a news article written by the CBC on June 1, 2012 "Matheson's family is hoping someone will come forward with information to crack the cold case. Sarah MacDonald, Matheson's mother, said it would give the family closure. 'My biggest thing is to just find his body,' MacDonald said."
Missing Kenley, produced and directed by Ron LaMothe, is available to view on many streaming platforms including Amazon Prime. (link for Canadians Prime Video: Missing Kenley); link for Americans (Watch Missing Kenley | Prime Video (amazon.com))
You can learn more at Missing Kenley Twitter @MissingKenley and Facebook Page Finding Kenley
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