Prince George, B.C.- The mystery of the disappearance of Prince George resident  Vernon Martin has taken a twist.

While Martin remains a missing person, if he should turn up in Alberta, he will be facing 2 sexual assault charges.

Martin has not been seen since December 19, 2009 when a fire levelled the NT Air Hangar on the property of the Prince George Airport. His truck was parked in front of the hangar at the time, but no sign of Mr. Martin. It was believed  he had been in the office in that building around the time the fire broke out.  While the fire destroyed the hangar, a forensic sift of ashes failed to uncover any human remains.

Today, the CBC revealed Martin was under investigation for two historical sexual assault cases in Alberta.

Opinion 250 has contacted the RCMP in the community where the alleged assaults took place, Vermilion Alberta. Detachment commander, Sergeant Mike McGinley  says two separate victims  were at the core of the cases which dated back to the late 1970’s, early 1980’s. 

Sgt.McGinley says   his investigators were not aware of the parallel missing persons case being investigated in Prince George “Two investigators from Prince George did come here to talk with the families involved.   We have not been involved in the Prince George investigation and I don’t know any details of that investigation or how deeply it may have gone. Once we had completed gathering our evidence, charges were formalized in November of 2010.” 

The charges were approved nearly a year after Martin disappeared. 

Sgt. McGinley says there are warrants for Martin’s arrest, but at this point they are only valid in Alberta. That could change if Mr. Martin’s whereabouts are learned.

In the meantime, the missing persons investigation by Prince George RCMP remains an open file.