‘I’ve done nothing,’ says ex-boyfriend

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This article was published 12/06/2009 (6237 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE — The man at the centre of a search for a missing woman said "I’ve done nothing" and RCMP officers will not find evidence at his former home linking him to her disappearance eight months ago.

Kelly Garrioch, 39, told the Free Press that his life has been "horrid" since his ex-girlfriend Amber McFarland went missing Oct. 18, 2008.

This week, gloved officers from the forensics identification unit and majors crimes units pored over the yard at Garrioch’s former home at 90 Yellowquill Trail. Behind the residence, large blue tarps laid on the grass.

After months of desperate searching and family pleas for information on the missing 24-year-old identical twin, the RCMP said Wednesday the case is being treated as a homicide.

Garrioch said Thursday he cannot discuss details around the case but he said he wants his side of the story to be told eventually.

"I’ve just lost seven to eight months of my life," he said.

"My life’s been turned upside down… I feel like apologizing to people that know me. It’s just been horrid."

Family and friends of McFarland said she was last seen at the Cat and Fiddle Nite Club in Portage la Prairie in the early morning of October 18, 2008. A friend and relative said after she did not show up for work they contacted Garrioch, a former boyfriend she was seen with that night.

He told them McFarland had visited his home but that she later called an unknown person to pick her up and then left, they said.

Surveillance video later released showed McFarland at a beer vendor early Oct. 18 with two unidentified men.

McFarland’s vehicle was later found in a hotel parking lot where she had left it before she went out.

Garrioch said RCMP officers had previously searched his Portage home.

The property changed hands in December when it was sold to another Portage la Prairie couple.

Thursday, a septic truck drove onto the property in the later afternoon and entered the backyard of the house.

Garrioch said RCMP officers contacted him "briefly" about the case "a couple weeks ago."

"They can search again… I’ve done nothing," said Garrioch.

"I feel bad for the new owners of the home being put out."

No arrests have been made in connection with the disappearance, said an RCMP spokesman Thursday.

Court documents indicate he was charged with breaching a court order that told him to stay away from McFarland. The matter was disposed of in February.

Garrioch said he’s struggled financially. He also said he’s trying to care for family members as well as balancing his job.

"I’d like to not step on anyone’s toes, family wise," he said.

"It’s all been kind-of thrown on me. I’ve been dealing with it."

gabrielle.giroday@freepress.mb.ca