Gregory Murray Lembke

In the quiet rural landscape of southern Ontario, Gregory Murray Lembke was a young man connected to his community through deep family roots. The 26-year-old male was the beloved son of Murray and Rosalyn Lembke, who were well-known in the area as the owners and operators of Silent Valley Park, a sprawling campground and RV park in Ayton. Gregory grew up in the region, a place of rolling farmland and close-knit communities. At the time of his death, he was living a quiet life on his own in a rural farmhouse outside of Ayton, separated from his wife. He did not own a vehicle, a detail that would become significant as investigators tried to piece together his final movements.

The winter of 1992 began with a brutal and still-unexplained act of violence. On the afternoon of Saturday, January 4, 1992, at around 4:00 p.m., Gregory’s body was discovered in a remote bush lot northeast of the town of Mount Forest. An investigation by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) determined that he had been killed at that location. He had been shot in the head and neck at close range with a.410 calibre shotgun. At the entrance to the driveway leading into the wooded area, investigators found a single spent Remington shotgun shell casing and one live shell, stark evidence of the final, violent moments of Gregory’s life.

The OPP launched an extensive investigation into the homicide, conducting hundreds of interviews in an effort to understand who would have wanted to harm Gregory Lembke and why. A key piece of information emerged from a witness who reported seeing a dark blue 4x4 style pickup truck in Gregory’s driveway on the evening of January 3, the night before his body was found. With Gregory not owning a vehicle, the identity of this driver and their reason for being at his home became a central question for police.

A major breakthrough in the case came more than three months after the murder. On April 15, 1992, two firearms were found discarded in a ditch along the Egremont-Glenelg Township Line in the township of Southgate, not far from where Gregory was killed. Forensic testing confirmed that one of the weapons, a Norica bolt-action.410 gauge shotgun, was the gun used to murder Gregory Lembke. The investigation then revealed that this shotgun had been stolen during a residential break-in in late 1991. Police learned the break-in occurred at a cottage or trailer located between Mount Forest and Durham, and that a video cassette recorder also taken in the theft was later recovered after being resold.

Despite tracing the murder weapon and interviewing a large number of people, the investigation stalled. No suspects were ever publicly identified or arrested, and the motive for the killing remained a mystery. The case grew cold, leaving Gregory’s family with unanswered questions and a grief that has spanned decades. The loss was a deep and lasting one; when his father, Murray, passed away in 2025, Gregory was still remembered in his obituary as his "beloved son."

As of May 2026, the murder of Gregory Lembke remains an active, unsolved investigation for the Ontario Provincial Police. Investigators still hope that someone with crucial information will finally come forward. They believe that allegiances and circumstances can change over time, and that a person who was once afraid to speak may now be able to provide the missing piece of the puzzle. The Government of Ontario is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for this crime. Anyone with information is urged to contact the OPP or to remain anonymous by calling Guelph Wellington Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.