Colleen Marian Daignault was a shy, 13-year-old girl with long brown hair and a sweet smile that was later immortalized in a missing person’s photograph. A resident of Surrey, British Columbia, she was just beginning her teenage years in a region that was slowly coming under the shadow of a nameless terror. In the spring of 1981, a sense of unease was growing in the Lower Mainland as several children and young adults had vanished without a trace, their disappearances initially not seen as
connected by authorities.
On Thursday, April 16, 1981, Colleen’s life was tragically cut short. She was waiting for a bus in the North Delta area when she was abducted. Her family reported her missing right away, but in an era before coordinated task forces for such crimes, her case was one of several that left police with few immediate leads. For five agonizing months, her family and community waited, hoping for her safe return. The search for Colleen was a period of profound uncertainty and fear, a nightmare shared by a growing number of families throughout the province.
The devastating discovery was made on September 17, 1981, when Colleen's skeletal remains were found in a forested, isolated area. The hope that had been held out for five months was extinguished, replaced by the horrifying certainty of her murder. She had been raped and killed, another victim in a string of brutal slayings that had left the community paralyzed with fear. The discovery of her body confirmed that a predator was moving through their neighborhoods, preying on the young and vulnerable.
The man responsible for Colleen’s death was Clifford Robert Olson Jr., a habitual criminal who became known as "The Beast of British Columbia." Between November 1980 and July 1981, Olson embarked on a killing spree, murdering 11 children and young adults between the ages of nine and 18. His methods were monstrous and varied, including strangulation, stabbing, and bludgeoning his victims. Olson, who was married and had a child of his own during his murder rampage, was a master manipulator who evaded suspicion for months.
Olson was finally arrested on August 12, 1981, after attempting to abduct two female hitchhikers. Initially charged with the murder of another victim, Judy Kozma, he soon began to reveal the true, horrifying extent of his crimes. In a move that sparked outrage across Canada, Olson struck a deal with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. In exchange for $100,000 paid to his wife, he agreed to lead investigators to the hidden graves of his victims, including Colleen. This macabre "cash-for-bodies" deal ensured the recovery of the victims' remains but left a lasting stain on the investigation and tormented the victims' families.
In January 1982, Clifford Olson pleaded guilty to 11 counts of first-degree murder, including that of Colleen Daignault. The trial was brief, ending just three days after it began when he changed his plea to guilty. He was sentenced to 11 concurrent life sentences, with no possibility of parole for 25 years. Olson died of cancer in prison on September 30, 2011, having spent the rest of his life incarcerated. His name is remembered for the terror he inflicted, but it is the names of his victims, like Colleen, that represent the profound and senseless loss suffered by so many.
