Richard Alfred Gaida Missing Person Case

Richard Alfred Gaida was a 56-year-old man from Martensville, Saskatchewan, when he disappeared after traveling to Kelowna, British Columbia, for work in the fall of 2012. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s national missing-persons record lists September 30, 2012 as his official “missing since” date and identifies Kelowna as the place from which he is missing. The narrative attached to the police record is less precise about the exact moment he vanished: investigators state that Richard left Martensville for Kelowna near the end of September and that he was last in contact with members of his family and his co-workers sometime during September. He had gone to the Kelowna area specifically for employment, making the disappearance particularly troubling because the people connected to both his personal life and his work apparently stopped hearing from him at roughly the same time. Publicly released information does not identify his employer, the type of work he had undertaken, the specific worksite he was assigned to, or exactly where in the Kelowna area he was staying. For that reason, September 30 should be understood as the official date recorded in the national missing-persons system, while the surviving public account describes his last known contact more generally as occurring near the end of September 2012.

Richard had traveled a considerable distance from his home community to reach Kelowna, leaving Saskatchewan and arriving in British Columbia’s Okanagan region for what was supposed to be a work-related stay. According to the RCMP, after that final period of communication with family members and co-workers, Richard was neither seen nor heard from again. The national case record does not describe a confirmed final sighting, the identity of the last person known to have spoken with him, or what Richard said during his last conversation. It also does not publicly specify whether he was traveling in a personal or company vehicle, whether a vehicle was subsequently located, what possessions he had with him, what clothing he was wearing when he disappeared, or whether investigators found any later financial, telephone, electronic, or travel activity associated with him. Those unanswered details leave an unusually sparse public timeline: Richard arrived in Kelowna to work, maintained contact with people in his life for a period of time, and then communication abruptly ended. There is also no public statement in the federal case summary describing evidence that he intended to permanently leave his family, his employment, or his home in Martensville. What is established is that after coming to Kelowna for work, he ceased having the contact with family and co-workers that investigators were able to document, and his whereabouts became unknown.

Investigators have released a number of physical characteristics that could help distinguish Richard from another person with a similar appearance. His year of birth is recorded as 1955, and he was 56 when he disappeared. He is described as White, approximately 183 centimeters, or six feet tall, and about 100 kilograms, or 220 pounds, with a medium build and a light or fair complexion. Richard had short brown hair and brown eyes. One particularly identifiable feature noted by investigators is a scar on his right thumb. The official record also gives his name as Richard Alfred Gaida and notes that he may be identified as Richard A. Gaida. No clothing description appears in the publicly available case information, and the RCMP record does not provide details about tattoos, jewelry, eyewear, medical conditions, or other distinguishing possessions. These physical descriptors have therefore remained among the principal pieces of public information available for identifying him should someone remember encountering Richard in or around Kelowna during the period when he vanished.

The disappearance is investigated through the Kelowna RCMP under police file 2014-3494 and appears in Canada’s national missing-persons system under reference 2014006304. The federal record continues to categorize Richard as missing and, as of September 22, 2026, provides no indication that he has been located. Anyone who remembers Richard from his time working in Kelowna, had contact with him after he left Martensville, knows where he was living or working in British Columbia, or possesses information concerning what happened after his final communications with family and co-workers is asked to contact the Kelowna RCMP at 250-762-3300. Information can also be provided anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS. More than a decade after Richard traveled away from his Saskatchewan home for work, the central facts of his disappearance remain painfully limited. In overview, Richard Alfred Gaida left Martensville for a work assignment in Kelowna near the end of September 2012, remained in contact with family and co-workers for a time, and then vanished from communication without a publicly documented explanation. No confirmed subsequent whereabouts have been released, and the official national record continues to list him as missing, leaving the fundamental question of what happened to Richard after he arrived in Kelowna unanswered.
Last Seen: Sep 30, 2012

Canada's Missing - RCMP case 2014006304