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Joint investigation leads to murder charges in 26-year-old case

Police have laid charges in the 1991 disappearance and deaths of 21-year-old Grant Ayerst and 36-year-old Norman Whalley

A joint investigation involving Barrie city police and Ontario Provincial Police into a 26-year-old cold case has led to first-degree murder charges against an Elmvale man. 

Police have now laid charges in the 1991 disappearance and deaths of Grant Ayerst, a 21-year-old Barrie man, and Norman Whalley, a 36-year-old man from British Columbia.

Their bodies have never been found. 

Michael Guido Gerald Claes, 49, of Elmvale, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

Claes appeared in court on April 16 and has been remanded in custody.

A press conference Wednesday morning at Barrie Police Headquarters revealed little information in terms of how police were able to identify Claes as a suspect, but officials did say he was arrested over the weekend by both Barrie and OPP officers without incident.

Det. Supt. Ken Leppert of the OPP Criminal Investigations Services, said Claes was not new to their list of people involved in the investigation.

“Mr. Claes has been known to the investigators for some time, but with respect to the evidence that is before the courts, I can’t make further comment,” said Leppert.

Police were tight-lipped on all details regarding the investigation as to what they know about the last time Ayerst and Whalley were seen alive leaving a Toronto hotel on Sept. 11, 1991. It is believed they met with foul play in the Barrie area.

The remains of the two victims have never been recovered, but Leppert credits the Simcoe County Case Files and the public with helping in the arrest of the suspect.

“There have been a number of pieces of information that have come to light from the public as the result of this initiative and it has assisted in this investigation and several of our other investigations,” Leppert said.

“I am not prepared to disclose the details of those tips at this time, but I would like to thank the public for their assistance and the investigators for their innovation with respect to this approach through social media," he added. "Had it not been for the public and this approach, we would not have that additional information and evidence that we have now.”

Leppert also had a warning for anyone who may be guilty of other homicides and stated that no matter how long it takes, the authorities will do what they can to find the truth.

“I would like to remind the public as a whole that the OPP and Barrie Police Service does not close a death investigation and when evidence comes forward that necessitates follow-up or investigation, we will apply all appropriate resources to ultimately find the truth,” Leppert said.

“For those who are watching or following this that may be responsible for other outstanding homicides in our jurisdiction, I would encourage you to come forward but also know that we do not close those investigations and will continue to pursue the truth indefinitely," he added. 

A statement from the Ayerst family was provided that had them thanking the investigators and particularly Det. Sgt. Andrew Taylor for “his interest, dedication and persistence with this case.”

Barrie Police Chief Kimberley Greenwood echoed the Ayerst family’s sentiments and added her hopes on seeing other families being added to the list of those with some shot at closure.

“Det. Sgt. Taylor has a connection to the family and he has been working with the family in his role with the OPP as an investigator and also very much involved with the investigation itself,” Greenwood said.

“Sgt. Taylor has been very much involved and had direct contact and spent significant amounts of time with the family as they digested this most recent news," she added. 

"When you think of 720,000 views and contacts over this and 132 were related to this specific case, you can see by the amount that it has hit a broad number of individuals and we’re looking at the hopes that we’ll have the same resolution for the other families as we’ve had today for the Ayerst and Whalley families.”

The Simcoe County Case Files is an online community initiative that aims to broaden the scope of some local cases that have gone cold. Besides the Ayerst/Whalley case there are the unsolved cases of 17-yer-old Cindy Halliday of Waverley, 40-year-old April Dobson and 30-year-old Barrie-area resident Jaimee Lee Miller.

More information on the SCCF can be found on their website and their Facebook page at @simcoecountycasefiles.

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Ayerst Family statement

Although not present at the news conference and respecting their continued desire for privacy, the Ayerst family provided a statement in response to the charges being laid:

"We are extremely grateful for the renewed interest and attention brought to the disappearance of our son Grant through Simcoe County Case Files.

We wish to thank Detective Sergeant Andrew Taylor for his interest, dedication and persistence with this case. We also extend our sincere gratitude to the many people involved in helping to bring some resolution to our family concerning Grant's disappearance.

Early on in this tragedy we chose not to let the events surrounding Grant's disappearance destroy our lives and family. Instead we chose to keep the good memories alive, hope to move us forward and always anticipated the day we would have some resolution to this tragedy which disrupted out lives over 26 years ago.

Patience, karma and hope have paid off.

While this case is before the courts, we have decided to refrain from making any public comments. We thank the media in advance for respecting our wishes.

We now put our trust and hope in the judicial system to hold accountable the individual or individuals responsible for Grant's disappearance."

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