Missing Marilyn Byskal: Unsolved 1974 Canoe Trip Disappearance in Manitoba

Missing Person: Marilyn Byskal

• Learn about the mysterious disappearance of Marilyn Byskal, including details of the last known sighting, the extensive but fruitless 10+ day search, and why the prevailing theory makes the most sense.
• Explore newspaper articles from the time of her disappearance and a sad classified ad from the time that highlights her family's grief.

Not the actual setting. AI-generated image with prompts for a fast-flowing river in the late spring in northern Manitoba.

Details (paraphrased) from a Government Source

Marilyn Byskal was last seen at about 7AM on June 20th, 1974, during a school-organized canoe and camping trip near Wabowden, Manitoba, Canada. She was 18 years old at the time.

According to the official report, she was last spotted in the morning at her tent as the group woke up along the Grass River. Most campers believed she may have fallen into the river’s fast-flowing waters, though no one witnessed such an incident. 

An extensive 10-day searanch of the water and surrounding ground was conducted, but it yielded no results—no body, no belongings, no clues. She has not been seen or heard from since.

Source: Canada’s Missing, Case Reference #2012020052 (accessed via RCMP website, last modified May 10, 2023).

Last Contact: June 20th, 1974 (Thursday).
Additional Reference: Wabowden RCMP, Case #2012-534333.

Last Location: Near the Grass River, 25 miles northwest of Wabowden, Manitoba, Canada. Whitewood Falls is mentioned at the DoeNetwork.
Age When Disappeared: 18
DOB: May 1st, 1956 (DoeNetwork)

Sex: Female
Height in Inches: 69 (5’9”)
Weight in Pounds (lbs): 150
BMI: Marilyn Byskal had a BMI of 22.06, calculated from her height (69 inches) and weight (150 lbs). This places her in the normal range by BMI standards—just an observation, as BMI isn’t a definitive indicator of health or lifestyle.

Ethnicity: White
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Scar or Distinctive Characteristic: None noted
Clothing and Accessories: No specific details were provided in the RCMP report

Transportation: No vehicle or specific transportation details noted. She was on a canoe trip, suggesting she was on foot or in a canoe before her disappearance.
Parents: Not listed in the source material

Clothing and Accessories
At the time of her disappearance on June 20th, 1974, no specific clothing or accessories were detailed in the RCMP report.

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Commentary and Research

By: Shane Lambert
Original Time of Writing: March 22nd, 2025

Has Marilyn Byskal Been Found?
As of the time of writing, Marilyn Byskal remains missing. Her case, now over 50 years old, is a cold one with little online buzz. There are no recent news updates or significant social media discussions breaking new ground.

Looking back at the journalism from the time of her disappearance, she received some minor attention in marginals in The Brandon Sun. There was also a larger article on July 2nd, 1974 in The Brandon Sun that mentioned she was a high school student on the cusp of graduation when she disappeared. Her disappearance turned the festivities around graduation into a more somber atmosphere. 

I think there were 12 people in her camping group, 10 students (including her) and 2 teachers. Here are some bullet points from the long article from July 2nd, 1974:

• She went to the river when she woke up but returned to her tent (her toiletries and toothbrush were found back in her tent).
• One important point is that the Grass River was only 2-3 feet deep at the point where students accessed the river. It was the speed of the river that was considered to be the risk. Aside from the journalism, I will later suggest that the temperature of the river would be a major risk as well.
• Two students and a teacher had to paddle 20 miles to alert the RCMP, suggesting that it would have been tough for them, the police, to start an immediate search.

There seemed to be an extensive search. I would say that the search might have been longer than what Canada's Missing described with an estimated 12+ days, including the group she was with and the RCMP's search.

What stands out in her case is the lack of witnesses and the inconclusive search. The Grass River’s fast currents could easily sweep someone away.

Did she fall in, or did something else happen that morning? The group’s assumption of a river accident feels plausible, yet without evidence, it’s just a theory. An alternative theory might be that she fell prey to a campground stalker.

If she did fall in the river, then it's not surprising at all that the search didn't turn her up. Thomas William Richey is pretty much known to have fallen in a river and he has been gone for a lot longer than Marilyn. The same goes with Duane Ludwig Winget.

If fast-flowing water takes you away, then you might end up buried in sediment, either ashore or underneath the water, and that's a really good hiding spot -- for decades and decades and decades.

Beyond the River: Other Possibilities? It seems they were considered.

My research into this case suggests that some entertained the possibility that she survived her disappearance event. Consider the following classified advertisement from the summer of 1975, published about 13 months after she was last seen.

August 2nd, 1975. The Vancouver Sun.

The mention of Erickson, Manitoba, where our missing person was from, suggests enough to me that we are talking about the same case. The classified ad is likely nothing more than the family's unwillingness to accept that Marilyn had died.

You see this a lot with missing-person cases: the lack of a body means no conclusive death. That allows family members to keep hope alive for survival.

Yet, if two students and a teacher had to canoe 20 miles to find the RCMP, then I'm not sure how Marilyn woke up one morning and then just disappeared to Vancouver from northern Manitoba after doing little more than brushing her teeth.

I did find a marriage involving a same-name match in Surrey in May 1975 but the wedding picture looks very different. I won't republish the image but it's in the May 8th, 1975 edition of the The Surrey Leader. I wonder if this same-name match to the area, which looks like a different person entirely, spawned an effort for the family to look there and that's all the classified ad is about.

Marilyn Byskal Disappearance Theories

The best alternative theory to drowning would be a campground stalker, in my opinion. The missing person was someone who I think would have a general appeal for physical attractiveness to the male population. She was young and athletic.

September 8th, 2009. The Toronto Star.

There have been lots of campground stalkers in the past. I would think a high school field trip to the backwoods involving 10 girls/women would be a magnet for a campground stalker. Half of the horror movies from the 1970s and 1980s loosely resembled that plot.

Tragic Cases of Young Women Attacked at Campgrounds

The following table details cases where young women were targeted at campgrounds, highlighting the dangers of remote outdoor settings.

Date	Location	Victims
June 13, 1977	Camp Scott, Mayes County, Oklahoma, USA	Lori Lee Farmer (8), Doris Denise Milner (10), Michelle Heather Guse (9)
May 24, 1996	Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, USA	Julianne "Julie" Williams (24), Laura "Lollie" Winans (26)
May 1992	Beverly Beach State Park, Oregon, USA	Melissa Sanders (20), Sheila Swanson (19)

It's a matter that might warrant mild interest. However, I do not believe that she fell victim to a campground stalker.

Campground Stalker Theory: Not Likely

Firstly, a 7 AM abduction time is weird in my opinion. If she went on a bathroom trip from her tent at 3AM and disappeared at that time, then I would be more partial to a campground stalker theory. The situation as it was, I would file "campground stalker" into the "very improbable" category. Especially since there is no hint of evidence of an abduction in anything that I read.

As for the disappearance involving the river sweeping her away. There isn't much I found weird at all. The theory made pretty good sense. If she did go into the water and drowned there, then it's not at all surprising that she has not been found. 

The only thing I found a bit weird was there was no description of a call for help and simply falling into a river is a little strange. If someone falls into a river from shore, I would think there would be moments where the person struggles but stays above water and these moments would involve a call for help. However, a quick submersion is possible as well, coupled with shock.

As for falling into the river without anyone pushing you, it is hard to picture. But there are all kinds of tripping hazards in natural settings, like rocks and roots. I would not be surprised if she went for a walk and fell in a little ways away from the camp.

Although it was June 20th, northern Manitoba has a subarctic climate. At that time of year, falling into water in the area would produce immediate shock. Even if the air was comfortable, bodies of water in the area would still be extremely uncomfortable due to snowmelt. I doubt the river water would be warmer than 10C.

What does all this mean? If Marilyn Byskal did fall into the Grass River, you or I won't generate a clue in finding her. So in the final analysis, I simply don't think researchers should work on this case unless they can link a known abductor to the area at the time of the disappearance. But going down that rabbit hole could be a colossal waste of time.