"On May 30, 1986, Edward Ludwig left his work site at Bow Valley Provincial Park, AB, to go boating on Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park, AB. Mr. Ludwig was despondent when he left. His vehicle was located at Lake Minnewanka, AB and an unoccupied boat was found floating on the lake."
Missing Person: Edward Konrad Ludwig
Last-contact date: May 30th, 1986 (Friday)
The area where the MP was last seen: The Lake Minnewanka area of Banff National Park, less than ten minutes driving north from the town of Banff.
Link to government source: MP @ Canada's Missing
VITAL DETAILS
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Sex: Male
Age at time of disappearance: 27 years old
Birthdate: Edward Konrad Ludwig was born between May 31st, 1958, and May 30th, 1959 based on his reported age at the last date of reported contact.
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Scar: Chin
Height/weight: 6'3" and 194 pounds
BMI*: Edward Konrad Ludwig was in the normal range for BMI.
Tattoos: Edward Konrad Ludwig had no tattoos associated with his profiles.
No one has heard from Edward Konrad Ludwig since Friday, May 30th, 1986, when he was 27 years of age. This individual has now been missing for about 39 years as of early 2025.
His car was found near Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park. This town is near the town of Banff and it is just 20 minutes or so driving west from Canmore, which is the town that Ludwig is missing from.
What stands out about this case is that he was reported to be "despondent" in his profile at Canada's Missing. Furthermore, his vehicle was found at Lake Minnewanka, and his empty "boat" was floating in the lake. The location of his boat, which was actually an inflatable raft according to journalism from 1986, is interesting because it really sounds like he fell in the lake or, perhaps, killed himself at the lake.
There was a search of the area with dogs and divers employed. The missing person was a park ranger whose father was a judge, so I think a very diligent search would have been performed.
Lake Minnewanka is a glacial lake, meaning that it is fed by melting snow off of the caps of the mountains in the area. You do not go into Lake Minnewanka unless it's absolutely at the peak time of summer. Even then, you would only go in the lake for about a minute, and if you don't mind a chill afterward. The water is very cold at this lake, and on May 30th, the day in 1986 when he went missing, the water would have been absolutely frigid. Even if it was a warm day for the region, it's the melting snowcaps that flow into the lake, and the water would still be freezing.
I waded in this lake in the summer of 2020. My feet were hurting from the lake-water temperature in only minutes. I didn't enter the water fully. But I noticed that people who did enter the lake only waded for moments although it was the summertime. The following video is one I made at Lake Minnewanka that day. Notice, that I can't stop talking about how cold the lake is.
When I read the case details, I don't see his raft drifting out to the middle of the lake without him in it. Furthermore, I don't see someone going out with him and then pushing him in and swimming to shore. The lake is so cold that even short swims in May would be incredibly risky. Whether he fell in the lake by accident or attempted suicide, someone submerged in Lake Minnewanka would be at risk of hypothermia.
To me, suicide via Lake Minnewanka doesn't sound like a comfortable death. However, it is hard to look past Canada's Missing description that states that this individual was despondent for some reason.
Furthermore, I found no headlines mentioning suspected foul play in this case. Lastly, I lean toward suicide because this man was a park ranger and would have understood the risks of going out on the lake at that time of year. For sure, he would have been aware that he should not have entered the water if he cared about his health.
If a male drowns in a lake, then there is a known process that usually occurs. The individual sinks as water replaces oxygen in his body cavities. Then, the organisms that are still alive in the body continue to produce gases. These gases help bring the body to the surface. It's at this point when the body might be found and this initial process can take about a week. However, eventually, the gasses will be released and the body will sink -- perhaps for ages.
Women go through a similar process when they drown. However, extra body fat, especially in busty women, can help them float.
Finding Edward Ludwig now would mean staying open-minded to the possibility that any human remains found in the area are his. Due to how much time has passed since 1986, his body might not be intact.
Please, take a moment to share this blog post on social media using hashtags relevant to the missing person's area. Also, please include the website hashtag #MPCSL.
Author: @UncoolNegated on Twitter
All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.
@UncoolNegated on Twitter is not a Private Investigator, however, he is currently studying to be one as of March 2021.
If you like this blog, then you can join the affiliated Facebook group: MPC Facebook Group
Website hashtag: #MPCSL
**Text might be paraphrased. If taken verbatim, then grammar or spelling errors are not necessarily corrected from original sources.
Disclaimer: Whenever possible, government sources are preferred for getting the details of a missing persons case. However, any source that the article writer deems reputable may be used.
['Missing person Facebook Group', "Canada's Missing", 'CharleyProject.org Edward Konrad Ludwig', 'DoeNetwork Edward Konrad Ludwig', 'Edward Konrad Ludwig missing person', 'what happened to Edward Konrad Ludwig', 'missing Canmore person', 'missing Alberta person', 'missing Canmore man', 'missing Alberta man', 'missing Canmore men', 'missing Alberta men', 'missing man Canmore', 'missing man Alberta', 'missing from Canmore', 'missing from Alberta', 'Canmore missing persons', 'Alberta missing persons', 'Edward Konrad Ludwig missing from Alberta', 'disappearance of Edward Konrad Ludwig', 'foul play', 'missing since', 'has not been seen', 'whereabouts of', 'missing person', 'missing persons database', 'theories', 'what happened to Edward Konrad Ludwig']
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
