EvanL
06-02-2004, 12:57 PM
'Nobody had any warning': Military searching for bomb maker who went on vacation and didn't come back
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On a sunny day late last July, Sergeant Montgomery Paisley, an explosives expert with the Canadian army's elite special forces unit, emptied his bank account, tidied up his affairs, boarded a plane to Thailand and vanished.
Military investigators now know the 16-year veteran of the Canadian Forces planned his disappearance, but have no idea why a non-commissioned officer with a sterling record and no sign of personal problems would so abruptly go "off the reservation."
Master Warrant Officer Bernie Caron, an investigator with the military's National Investigation Service, told the National Post that military police have now concluded that Sgt. Paisley is missing "of his own volition."
"This is a very, very unusual case," said Master Warrant Officer Caron, the case manager for the investigation service. "He was an outstanding soldier, an outstanding non-commissioned officer, and he's just disappeared.
"He wasn't pushed into this; he wasn't forced; he did it of his own free will.... There is no foul play suspected.
"We are able to say that nobody knew what he had planned; nobody had any warning about this -- not his family or anyone else. Why he did that I do not know ... and we probably won't know that until we find him."
Sgt. Paisley was a highly trained, decorated and well-regarded member of Joint Task Force 2 (JTF-2), the Canadian Forces' elite, and highly secretive, special forces unit. There was no sign of stress or trouble in his life in the weeks leading up to his disappearance.
Thai officials immediately raised the possibility that he had either been kidnapped by terrorists or was selling his services to the highest bidder, but Master Warrant Officer Caron said investigators have now ruled that out.
"That's always a concern with someone with his training and expertise," he said. "But there's been no indication of that whatsoever.
"He just fled, and he wouldn't have done that if he was going to do something like join al-Qaeda or some other [terrorist] group -- that just raises red flags and makes him more high profile. It means we're going to be looking for him. And because of his training, he knows that."
After a nine-month investigation into the 40-year-old soldier's vanishing, investigators still know relatively little about his movements in the days before he disappeared last July and nothing at all about his whereabouts after Aug. 1, the day he landed in Thailand.
Last July, Sgt. Paisley requested and was granted two weeks of annual leave, the military's version of yearly vacation time, and apparently began planning a vacation in Thailand. He boarded a commercial flight to southeast Asia, landing in Thailand on Aug. 1, and clearing customs.
After that, he appears to have effectively vanished. Investigators have determined that in the days and weeks before his "vacation," Sgt. Paisley had been quietly cleaning out his bank account and making other preparations for his vanishing act, although Master Warrant Officer Caron would not specify what they were or say how much cash the missing man had at his disposal.
"We executed several search warrants, interviewed his family and friends ... and there were certain red flags he left in his trail," he said.
Sgt. Paisley had been a member of JTF-2 for six years, including a tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2002 in support of a Canadian battlegroup in Kandahar that was helping hunt down Taliban and al-Qaeda holdouts along the southern and eastern Afghan borders.
He was not one of JTF-2's front-line commandos, known as "assaulters" within the Ottawa-based unit, but was instead a "supporter," one of the specialists who provide back up and technical expertise to the unit.
However, Sgt. Paisley's area of specialization was in explosives and defusing mines and ****y traps, a combination that set off alarm bells within the Canadian Forces when he failed to return from his vacation.
Canadian officials in Bangkok informed Thai police about Sgt. Paisley's disappearance last year, in advance of the high-security Asia-Pacific economic summit there last fall. They said he was not believed to be a threat, although he was thought to be carrying a laptop computer or notebook with bomb-making information.
Master Warrant Officer Caron said investigators are not certain that Sgt. Paisley is still in Thailand and have contacted Interpol, the FBI and other international agencies about the case.
Given his training, and the knowledge that Canadian Forces investigators would be looking for him, intelligence experts say privately that Sgt. Paisley very likely left Thailand almost immediately after his arrival and went "country hopping," travelling by circuitous routes and difficult to trace methods to arrive at a destination where he could go into hiding.
Master Warrant Officer Caron acknowledged that the case has run up against a brick wall, at least for the moment.
"I have faith in our ability to find him ... but these investigations take time -- you have to be patient," he said. "We're still looking for more leads, more information.
"But we cannot determine where he's at, so we're on standby right now."
Lieutenant (Navy) Kent Penney, a spokesman for JTF-2, said the case has shocked the special anti-terrorism unit. "People are very confused and troubled and a little frustrated," he said.
"It's a very small unit, a very cohesive unit, it's a very close-knit family ... [and] having something like that happen is very upsetting."
Although Sgt. Paisley is officially absent without leave, and would likely face disciplinary action at the very least if he is found, Lieut. Penney said the primary concern is for his well-being. "There is a concern about his safety because of the unit he worked for and the work he did."
Because of Sgt. Paisley's membership in JTF-2, the military is releasing little information about the case. They are not saying what his hometown was, whether or not he was married, anything about the details of his service and will not release a photograph or a physical description.
Master Warrant Officer Caron said the military does not want to make Sgt. Paisley a target for criminals or terrorist groups. "We are looking for him, but we don't want other people looking for him as well."
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On a sunny day late last July, Sergeant Montgomery Paisley, an explosives expert with the Canadian army's elite special forces unit, emptied his bank account, tidied up his affairs, boarded a plane to Thailand and vanished.
Military investigators now know the 16-year veteran of the Canadian Forces planned his disappearance, but have no idea why a non-commissioned officer with a sterling record and no sign of personal problems would so abruptly go "off the reservation."
Master Warrant Officer Bernie Caron, an investigator with the military's National Investigation Service, told the National Post that military police have now concluded that Sgt. Paisley is missing "of his own volition."
"This is a very, very unusual case," said Master Warrant Officer Caron, the case manager for the investigation service. "He was an outstanding soldier, an outstanding non-commissioned officer, and he's just disappeared.
"He wasn't pushed into this; he wasn't forced; he did it of his own free will.... There is no foul play suspected.
"We are able to say that nobody knew what he had planned; nobody had any warning about this -- not his family or anyone else. Why he did that I do not know ... and we probably won't know that until we find him."
Sgt. Paisley was a highly trained, decorated and well-regarded member of Joint Task Force 2 (JTF-2), the Canadian Forces' elite, and highly secretive, special forces unit. There was no sign of stress or trouble in his life in the weeks leading up to his disappearance.
Thai officials immediately raised the possibility that he had either been kidnapped by terrorists or was selling his services to the highest bidder, but Master Warrant Officer Caron said investigators have now ruled that out.
"That's always a concern with someone with his training and expertise," he said. "But there's been no indication of that whatsoever.
"He just fled, and he wouldn't have done that if he was going to do something like join al-Qaeda or some other [terrorist] group -- that just raises red flags and makes him more high profile. It means we're going to be looking for him. And because of his training, he knows that."
After a nine-month investigation into the 40-year-old soldier's vanishing, investigators still know relatively little about his movements in the days before he disappeared last July and nothing at all about his whereabouts after Aug. 1, the day he landed in Thailand.
Last July, Sgt. Paisley requested and was granted two weeks of annual leave, the military's version of yearly vacation time, and apparently began planning a vacation in Thailand. He boarded a commercial flight to southeast Asia, landing in Thailand on Aug. 1, and clearing customs.
After that, he appears to have effectively vanished. Investigators have determined that in the days and weeks before his "vacation," Sgt. Paisley had been quietly cleaning out his bank account and making other preparations for his vanishing act, although Master Warrant Officer Caron would not specify what they were or say how much cash the missing man had at his disposal.
"We executed several search warrants, interviewed his family and friends ... and there were certain red flags he left in his trail," he said.
Sgt. Paisley had been a member of JTF-2 for six years, including a tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2002 in support of a Canadian battlegroup in Kandahar that was helping hunt down Taliban and al-Qaeda holdouts along the southern and eastern Afghan borders.
He was not one of JTF-2's front-line commandos, known as "assaulters" within the Ottawa-based unit, but was instead a "supporter," one of the specialists who provide back up and technical expertise to the unit.
However, Sgt. Paisley's area of specialization was in explosives and defusing mines and ****y traps, a combination that set off alarm bells within the Canadian Forces when he failed to return from his vacation.
Canadian officials in Bangkok informed Thai police about Sgt. Paisley's disappearance last year, in advance of the high-security Asia-Pacific economic summit there last fall. They said he was not believed to be a threat, although he was thought to be carrying a laptop computer or notebook with bomb-making information.
Master Warrant Officer Caron said investigators are not certain that Sgt. Paisley is still in Thailand and have contacted Interpol, the FBI and other international agencies about the case.
Given his training, and the knowledge that Canadian Forces investigators would be looking for him, intelligence experts say privately that Sgt. Paisley very likely left Thailand almost immediately after his arrival and went "country hopping," travelling by circuitous routes and difficult to trace methods to arrive at a destination where he could go into hiding.
Master Warrant Officer Caron acknowledged that the case has run up against a brick wall, at least for the moment.
"I have faith in our ability to find him ... but these investigations take time -- you have to be patient," he said. "We're still looking for more leads, more information.
"But we cannot determine where he's at, so we're on standby right now."
Lieutenant (Navy) Kent Penney, a spokesman for JTF-2, said the case has shocked the special anti-terrorism unit. "People are very confused and troubled and a little frustrated," he said.
"It's a very small unit, a very cohesive unit, it's a very close-knit family ... [and] having something like that happen is very upsetting."
Although Sgt. Paisley is officially absent without leave, and would likely face disciplinary action at the very least if he is found, Lieut. Penney said the primary concern is for his well-being. "There is a concern about his safety because of the unit he worked for and the work he did."
Because of Sgt. Paisley's membership in JTF-2, the military is releasing little information about the case. They are not saying what his hometown was, whether or not he was married, anything about the details of his service and will not release a photograph or a physical description.
Master Warrant Officer Caron said the military does not want to make Sgt. Paisley a target for criminals or terrorist groups. "We are looking for him, but we don't want other people looking for him as well."