The City of St. Albert unveiled a sculpture to remember Lyle and Marie McCann at the Grandin Pond Eco Park.
The piece of art named Darling — the name Lyle and Marie had for each other — is two bronze loons, the couple’s favourite animal.
"Darling," getting unveiled. It's located in the Grandin neighbourhood where Lyle & Marie used to live. The couple loved nature and loons. pic.twitter.com/ABGbULeKwS
— Angela Jung (@AngelaJungCTV) October 15, 2017
“It just evokes them to me. … They're together, and they’re enjoying life and they’re sort of taking off,” son Bret McCann said.
After the couple disappeared on July 3, 2010, the community raised $60,000 to use as a reward in case someone found the McCanns. The money was never claimed, and their family donated it to the city’s Art in Public Spaces program.
“The community has been saddened by the loss of the McCann’s as friends and neighbours,” St. Albert mayor Nolan Crouse said. “This artwork is a fitting way to honour and respect them as individuals and as a St. Albert family.”
The monument offers closure to the McCann family.
“It’s a milestone,” McCann said. “We are turning the page and we are moving on to the next chapter.”
The sculpture will be permanently installed in the spring of 2018.
Lyle and Marie McCann’s bodies were never found.
Earlier this year, Travis Vader was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to life in prison.
With files from Angela Jung
