Duncan MacPherson: Missing Person Case Caught in the Crossfire of Business

By: Shane Lambert
Original time of writing: February 3rd, 2025

Duncan MacPherson was a former Canadian hockey player who died at the age of 23 in the Austrian Alps. His missing person case has been covered extensively in media, including at The Infographics Show and by the Canadian television show The Fifth Estate. His case is relevant to missing person investigations because it highlights how the details of a missing person's disappearance -- and even a death -- could be covered up by the for-profit sector.

Furthermore, as MacPherson was a former professional hockey player, he was not part of the marginalized sectors of society. If his death can be swept under the rug, then it could happen to anybody.

Duncan MacPherson. A former missing person, found after
14 years. 

On August 9th, 1989, MacPherson was snowboarding for the first time in Austria. He disappeared on the slopes and there were two big clues regarding his disappearance that should have been obvious close to August 9th, 1989.

MacPherson, on his last day alive, had a short-term rented snowboard, one that he would never return. This should have been a flag that something was amiss. Furthermore, his vehicle sat unattended and unmoving near the slopes that he snowboarded on -- for weeks after he was last heard from. If his unreturned snowboard raised some questions as to his whereabouts, then any astute investigator would also have found his unmoving vehicle and perhaps raised awareness about the chance that he was in danger accordingly.

While snowboarding on August 9th, 1989, MacPherson had some kind of accident on the ski hill. His parents realized that something was wrong after they hadn't heard from their son for some time. Accordingly, they led the efforts to find their missing son, not really knowing if he was alive or dead.

However, they did not receive much help from any police services. Their own investigation led them to a ski resort area in the Alps near the Stubai Glacier Resort. Furthermore, the company that he rented the snowboard from claimed that the snowboard had been returned, which suggested that he left the ski hill in good health. This turned out to not be true.

Fourteen years later MacPherson's body was found on the skiing slopes. Forensic experts concluded that he and the snowboard had been mangled by a machine, presumably the one that groomed the slopes. Furthermore, some have concluded that, after this event, he was also placed in a shallow snow-covered grave -- in a deliberate act to hide the body. When this 'grave' melted in 2003, it led to the discovery of his body, which included shattered limbs -- and a shattered snowboard.

As the case was presented at both The Infographics Show and The Fifth Estate, there was a motive to downplay MacPherson's disappearance. The ski resort was a big part of the local economy and any negative publicity could hurt revenue for any business associated with the ski hill. I think it's this possibility that is a big point to take away from this case.

But I think it would be wrong to conclude that the whole town sought to cover up MacPherson's disappearance because his parents did find locals who provided key clues regarding his case. However, apparently, some people think that missing people are bad for tourism and they prefer that these matters not be investigated.

What would have happened if the snowboard shop raised awareness as soon as the snowboard went unreturned, or even a couple of hours afterward? It's not clear if this would have saved MacPherson's life or not.

I think late-returned equipment in the rental industry is normal enough that it's not inherently alarming. If someone is given 24-hour leeway to return something before raising alarms, then in MacPherson's case I think he would have died anyway. However, there was no need for him to stay missing for so long and for his family to suffer the mental anguish of uncertainty. For this reason, his case is a shame and an example of profits being ahead of human suffering.

Between The Infographics Show's and The Fifth Estate's presentation, I would recommend the latter. It's embedded below while this link exits to the former's coverage of this case.