Kenley Matheson from Cape Breton has been missing since 1992.Supplied
No human remains were found during an RCMP-led search in relation to a missing Acadia University student who mysteriously disappeared more than 30 years ago, police announced Tuesday.
Kenley Matheson, 20, went missing a few weeks after he started university in September, 1992 and hasn’t been seen or heard from since.
Last week, members of the RCMP’s major crime unit, the medical examiner’s office, St. Thomas University’s anthropology department and Acadia University’s earth and environmental science department spent three days searching a steep wooded site on Melanson Mountain outside the town of Wolfville, N.S.
The search area was identified by a cadaver dog during a search that was commissioned by The Globe and Mail in the spring.
A sketch of what Kenley Matheson would look like issued by Nova Scotia RCMP in September, 2022.Supplied
RCMP spokesman Corporal Chris Marshall said the search team also did not locate any evidence that suggested that human remains had been deposited at the site. “The RCMP has updated Kenley’s family about the outcome of the search and we will remain in contact with them going forward,” said Cpl. Marshall in a statement.
Mr. Matheson’s family has ardently advocated for RCMP to continue investigating his disappearance for years. His sister, Kayrene Matheson, recently launched the Bring Kenley Home mission, a walking challenge to raise awareness about the memory of her brother. Mr. Matheson’s case was the topic of a documentary series titled Missing Kenley.
During Mr. Matheson’s first two weeks of university, he travelled with a friend to Corkums Island in Lunenburg County for the weekend. He returned to Acadia and attended a campus party on Sept. 18, 1992, where he was seen by his sister and others at Crowell Tower on Sept. 20.
Mr. Matheson was last spotted by a friend walking on Main Street in Wolfville the next day, wearing blue jeans, a purple T-shirt, a red and black backpack and a ballcap. He has not been in contact with family or friends and there has been no activity on his bank account since.
RCMP have classified Mr. Matheson as a missing person, though in 2012 his case was added to a provincial reward program for major unsolved crimes that offers up to $150,000 for information leading to an arrest or conviction.