Ontario police lay new charge in 1970 missing girl case

An Ontario man charged with the 1970 abduction and killing of a 12-year-old girl had a new charge laid against him during a court appearance in Kirkland Lake on Tuesday.

Barry Vincent Manion is charged with the first-degree murder and abduction of Katherine May Wilson, who disappeared while walking home from a gas station in the northern Ontario town.

Police added a third charge of unlawful confinement against Manion, 60, Tuesday as he appeared in a Kirkland Lake courtroom. Police didn't offer any further information about why the new charge was added.

Manion, who most recently lived in London, Ont., resided in Kirkland Lake when Katherine went missing on Oct. 10, 1970. He is a distant cousin of the missing girl, her family has said.

His brother-in-law was a member of the police force investigating the disappearance 38 years ago. Police say there is no evidence his involvement jeopardized that investigation.

Manion will remain in police custody until his next court appearance in Kirkland Lake on Feb. 17.

Ontario Provincial Police announced the charges last week. Three months earlier, police had issued a press release offering a $50,000 reward for information.

Katherine's mother, Aline Wilson, said she hopes the charges will bring closure to her family.

The girl had been picking up groceries for her mother on the afternoon she went missing. Katherine called home just before 5 p.m. to ask whether she could buy a can of pop or a bag of chips with the leftover change.

Wilson agreed, and her daughter said she was going to walk home. Katherine's two sisters walked out to meet her halfway, but Katherine never showed up.

An exhaustive police search, that included dogs, helicopters and boats, lasted for several weeks but Katherine was never found. Her body is still missing.