Английская Википедия:Duncan MacPherson

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Duncan Alvin MacPherson (February 3, 1966 – August 9, 1989) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who died under mysterious circumstances during a ski trip in Austria.

Early life and career

MacPherson was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. A standout defensive defenceman for the Saskatoon Blades of the Western Hockey League, he was drafted in the first round, 20th overall, of the 1984 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders. He played minor league hockey for the Springfield Indians of the American Hockey League and the Indianapolis Ice of the International Hockey League.

Disappearance

In the summer of 1989, MacPherson went to Europe. The New York Islanders had bought out and released the often injured MacPherson,[1] who never made it to the NHL.[2] MacPherson had intentions of taking a job as a player-coach for a semi-pro hockey team in Dundee, Scotland, commencing in August 1989. Despite having a bad feeling about the entrepreneur Ron Dixon who was backing the Scottish team,[2] he travelled to central Europe alone in early August 1989. The plan was to visit old friends and see the sights before going on to Scotland.

He was scheduled to arrive in Dundee on August 12. When he did not show up, his family went to look for him. A car he had borrowed from a friend was discovered six weeks later in the parking lot of the Stubaital ski-region resort at the foot of the Stubai Glaciers in the Stubai Alps in Austria, where he had rented a snowboard. His last known contact was with an employee of the ski resort on August 9, who reported that he spoke with MacPherson, and last saw MacPherson departing alone to perhaps squeeze in some final snowboarding and hiking before nightfall.[2]

Adding drama to the mystery was the fact that MacPherson claimed he had been contacted by the CIA, and that they were interested in recruiting him as a spy. The story was never confirmed.[1]

In 2003, 14 years after MacPherson disappeared, an employee of the Stubai Glacier Resort discovered a glove sticking out of the ice of the melting Schaufelferner Glacier (one of the Stubai Glaciers' arms), in the middle of the ski run, where MacPherson's body had lain frozen.[3]

Theories

According to John Leake, author of ‘Cold A Long Time: An Alpine Mystery’, MacPherson’s body was found to have suffered significant trauma, including amputation of arms, hands and legs. The damage is consistent with rotating machinery; his snowboard also had a uniform pattern of damage and was cut apart, which indicates that it too had gone through a machine. Leake’s conclusion was that MacPherson had a snowboard accident and injured his leg, and was laying on the slope waiting for rescue. During that very foggy day, a snowcat driver didn't see MacPherson and ran him over by accident, killing him. Instead of reporting it, that driver (or his supervisor) buried MacPherson in the shallow crevasse. His body stayed hidden there for fourteen years, until the glacier melted enough for it to be seen. [4]

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1982–83 Battleford Barons SJHL 59 6 11 17 215
1982–83 Saskatoon Blades WHL 5 2 4 6 16 2 0 0 0 0
1983–84 Saskatoon Blades WHL 45 0 14 14 74
1984–85 Saskatoon Blades WHL 69 9 26 35 116 3 0 0 0 4
1985–86 Saskatoon Blades WHL 70 10 54 64 147 13 3 8 11 38
1986–87 Springfield Indians AHL 26 1 0 1 86
1987–88 Springfield Indians AHL 74 5 14 19 213
1988–89 Springfield Indians AHL 24 1 5 6 69
1988–89 Indianapolis Ice IHL 33 1 4 5 23
WHL totals 189 21 98 119 353 18 3 8 11 42
AHL totals 124 7 19 26 368

See also

References

Шаблон:Reflist

Further reading

External links

Шаблон:S-start Шаблон:Succession box Шаблон:S-end

Шаблон:Authority control Category:1989 missing person cases Category:unsolved deaths in austria