In 1989, This Nova Scotia Teen Mysteriously Vanished After Clocking Out Of Work One Afternoon
In 1989, Kimberly Ann McAndrew of Halifax, Nova Scotia, was 19-years-old. She was one of five siblings, and while attending Dalhousie University, she worked as a cashier at Canadian Tire– which was located on Quinpool Road.
But, on August 12, 1989, Kimberly strangely vanished after finishing a routine shift at work.
That Saturday started off normally. And by the late afternoon, the 19-year-old clocked out and left work at about 4:20 p.m. Kimberly had plans to attend the Halifax Busker Festival with her family and boyfriend that same night.
After she left Canadian Tire, though, she was never seen or heard from again.
“I think that it could have been anyone’s daughter… and that’s what makes that case so bothersome to me,” said Tom Martin, a retired police detective who worked Kimberly’s case.
According to Martin, there were no confirmed sightings of the 19-year-old after she left work.
During the early stages of the investigation, one employee from Gardenia Flower Shop located in Dartmouth did contact authorities– detailing how a young woman had visited the store early that evening. The employee recalled how the woman purchased a rose and a balloon and claimed it had been Kimberly.
This possible sighting was never confirmed, though, and Martin believes that the 19-year-old likely did not make it far from Canadian Tire after work. He also detailed how visiting the flower shop was not characteristic of the teen.
“That wasn’t Kim’s way. She was not adventurous, and for her to go to Dartmouth on her own would have been an adventure. And that’s just not what Kim would have done when she had plans that evening,” Martin said.
Khaligo – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
Instead, the retired detective believes that something might have happened to Kimberly right in the parking lot of her own workplace. Although, this theory has never been confirmed, either.
Years soon passed by with few developments made in Kimberly’s case. But then, during the fall of 1995, police received a tip from an inmate detailing how Kimberly may have been buried in Sir Sandford Fleming Park in Halifax. After combing this region, though, no evidence was found.
By the spring of 1996, authorities began searching wells located in Point Pleasant Park. And more recently, in 2013, a Shad Bay property was searched. Unfortunately, none of these efforts ever yielded any results.
The Shad Bay residence was owned by the brother of Andrew Paul Johnson– who is a dangerous offender in British Columbia serving an indeterminate sentence. Andrew is also a person of interest in various Halifax crimes involving missing and murdered women. One of those cases is reportedly Kimberly’s.
Johnson’s current sentence was issued after he lured a 20-year-old woman to his car in Nanaimo, British Columbia, in 1997.
He reportedly showed the young woman a fake police badge before driving her to a secluded area. But, police were nearby and happened to see Johnson. Authorities ultimately arrested him after the young woman explained how Johnson had gotten her into his car by claiming to be a police officer.
Upon searching his vehicle, authorities discovered toy handcuffs, a meat cleaver, packing tape, some maps, and a mask.
Shortly before moving to British Columbia, Johnson also disappeared from an offender treatment program located in the Halifax area. In the program, psychiatrists asked the offenders to write an essay about an assault from the victim’s perspective.
After Johnson turned in his assignment, it was found that he discussed the assault of 19-year-old Kimberly McAndrew. The psychiatrist who received his essay contacted authorities, and law enforcement launched a task force to investigate Johnson.
Tom Martin revealed one of the task force’s most jarring findings– at the time of Kimberly’s disappearance, Johnson’s then-girlfriend was reportedly renting an apartment right across the street from the parking lot of Canadian Tire.
NovaScotia.ca – pictured above is Kimberly
Soon afterward, the task force uncovered evidence potentially linking Johnson to other crimes committed against women in the Halifax area. Authorities confronted him with this evidence, too, but he had already pleaded guilty to the charges in British Columbia. So, Johnson awaited his sentencing and declined to speak with investigators.
Once a British Columbia court deemed Johnson to be a dangerous offender, the Halifax task force that had been responsible for investigating him was then disbanded in May 2001. This pushed Martin to speak out about how cold cases were handled in Halifax.
But, Frank Beazley, the Chief of Police at the time, disagreed with Martin’s perspective and shared his thoughts in a 2009 interview.
“Decisions surrounding the scaling back of aspects of major files are neither made lightly nor without consultation. Mr. Martin obviously did not like the decisions that were made, but that does not translate into a given that they were wrong,” Beazley said.
Michael Wayne McGray, a convicted serial killer who claimed to have murdered 18 people, was also in the Halifax area around the time of Kimberly’s disappearance. Although, he claimed that he could not remember if the teen had been one of his victims.
So, for over 39 years, Kimberly’s case has gone unsolved. Her father, Cyril, and the rest of her family never stopped searching. But, in 2014, Cyril passed away without ever learning what really happened to his daughter.
“My dad died searching for my sister,” Kimberly’s sister, Megan, said.
According to Megan, her sister was never one to just run off. Rather, Kimberly always enjoyed having company– even while living in rural Parrsboro, Nova Scotia.
“You know, I used to make fun of her because she wouldn’t walk to downtown Parrsboro alone and would make me go with her to go get a Diet Coke. That’s not the personality of someone that has just gone off,” Megan said.
But, without any closure, the questions have continued to gnaw at Kimberly’s loved ones.
“This agony of not knowing what your grief really is. You can go with what the most likely scenario is, but without any facts, it’s not something you can focus on and accept. It’s still not real,” Megan explained.
“Every family at least deserves that answer. They deserve to be able to take their loved one home and then go from there. Somebody is responsible for my sister going missing, and they deserve to have to face justice.”
At the time of Kimberly’s disappearance, she was wearing a white, short-sleeved “Espirit” t-shirt with red and green squares, as well as pleated, navy cotton slacks that had slash pockets in the front. The 19-year-old also had on an oversized navy cardigan and jade green slip-on loafers.
There is currently a reward of up to $150,000 being offered by the Government of the Province of Nova Scotia for any information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person(s) responsible for Kimberly’s disappearance.
If you have any information regarding Kimberly’s case, you are urged to contact the Rewards for Major Unsolved Crimes Program at 1(888) 710-9090.
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