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2021 will be remembered for many reasons, but for dozens of Kamloops and Okanagan families, it will be remembered as the year a loved one was killed and most of them remain mysteries.

There were nine homicides in the region this year and another possible homicide and police are still investigating the vast majority of them.

In Penticton, there have been no arrests in the murder of 22-year-old Taig Savage, whose body was found on the field at Penticton Secondary during the early hours of Sept. 5.

However Supt. Brian Hunter told Penticton council on Nov. 16 that the file is progressing very well.

“Complex techniques are being engaged in the community,” he said.

Last month, Tracey Savage, the mother of Taig, said the RCMP told her that her son's death was not a result of the drug trade, and he likely did not know the person or people who killed him. Police also told Tracey the circumstances around Taig's final hours may seem confusing right now but that she will be able to make sense of things in court.

Clayton Robert Dyer, a 21 year old from Penticton, was found dead Oct. 13 outside of the city on Green Mountain Road. The RCMP reached out to the public asking about his movements on Oct. 9. 

READ MORE: Osoyoos deaths appear to be murder-suicide: RCMP

A few kilometres north in Naramata, there have been no arrests in the murder of Kathy Richardson, whose son Wade Cudmore, 32, has been in custody for the murder of brothers Erick and Carlo Fryer from Kamloops since charges were announced June 18. Richardson’s body was found in her home on June 9. The Fryers’ bodies were found in Naramata on May 10. Cudmore’s co-accused Anthony Graham remains on the lam. According to an RCMP report from November, friends of Graham’s told police they last saw him around May 25.

An email to the Penticton RCMP regarding those murders was not responded to.

In Kelowna, 41-year-old Krystal Moyan’s body was found at the intersection of Highway 33 and Nickel Road on Sept. 19. Last week the Kelowna RCMP said that case is still under investigation.

On Oct. 29, another woman’s body was found in a vehicle in Kelowna on Vasile Road in Kelowna. It was deemed suspicious at the time but the RCMP did not release her name. Since then, it was determined that her death was not criminal in nature so the investigation was turned over to the B.C. Coroners Service.

READ MORE: Murder charge laid in suspicious death at Vernon hotel

In the Nicola Lake area, the body of 51-year-old Michael Walters was found on Sept. 14. Last week the RCMP said there are no updates and the investigation remains active and on-going.

Adam Hibbert, 29, was found dead at the Kamloops landfill on Oct. 1. The same day his body was discovered he was charged with a robbery that took place in August. Kamloops RCMP said last week his death is still under investigation.

Kamloops RCMP offered the same response – still under investigation – when asked about the murder of Mikael Wayne Stewart, 23, who was shot and killed in a suite at the Howard Johnson Motel on Feb. 13.

An unsolved mystery that garnered major attention in the Kamloops community and beyond was the disappearance of Shannon White, who was last seen leaving her home on Nov. 1 before failing to arrive at work that morning. Her vehicle was found but few other clues have surfaced. 

In Scotch Creek, 32-year-old John Vance was involved in a shooting on June 25 and later died of his injuries.

A voicemail to the Chase RCMP detachment was not responded to.

To contact a reporter for this story, email Dan Walton or call 250-488-3065 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

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