Uploaded October 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
#missingpersonsmysteries #missingpersonscases
This is the case of the disappearance of 72 year old Paul Schroeder from the Sunset Point Christian Camp (then called the German Pentecostal Camp) on the shores of Lac Ste. Anne in central Alberta on July 6 1972.
I grew up attending one of the churches that is part of this camp, and I have spent a lot of time here over the years. Various family members have had cabins in this camp over the years. I even worked out at the camp during my high school summers. Mr. Schroeder disappeared before I was born.
Mr. Schroeder was 72 years old when he disappeared, and he was married with children and grandchildren. Both Paul and his son Alf had family cabins at the camp, and there was an annual church camp gathering that took place there around the beginning of July.
Paul and his family had been attending the camp that summer, and on July 6 the camp was winding down and the family discussed travelling back to Edmonton together as a group. Mr. Schroeder reportedly cut the grass in front of his cabin, gathered water for his wife Auralia to make coffee with and then disappeared. When his family gathered to leave, Paul was nowhere to be found. Some other people in the camp said that they had seen Paul shortly after he went missing, and he was walking on the east side of the camp. This is very vague, the east side of the camp is where Paul's cabin was located and this is the larger portion of the camp. Very quickly, most of the people at the camp were looking for Mr. Schroeder and they had recruited many local residents living in the area.
Soon the Alberta Beach fire chief, Bill Nicoll, has gathered his team and they were assisting in the search. Later that evening, the Stony Plain RCMP were notified and the search intensified. Over the next week, police airplanes and helicopters combed the ground form the sky. Multiple police and civilian boats dragged the lake and scoured the shoreline, and the local Sturgeon River was also searched extensively. Searchers walked "shoulder-to-shoulder" throughout the camp and surrounding areas looking for the lost man. The RCMP put out a bulletin that alerted various police detachments throughout Western Canada, and bus/train stations and airports were searched throughout urban centers. 2 busloads of troops were brought in from the Edmonton military barracks to assist in the search as well.
It was the largest search in the entire county of Lac Ste. Anne.
I few years ago, I had the chance to briefly talk with Bill Nicoll on the phone, he was the fire chief in Alberta Beach when Paul went missing. He said that multiple canine trackers tracked Paul's scent to the main gates of the camp, and then they lost the scent at this location. This would certainly suggest that Paul was picked up at the main gates. No evidence of Paul being abducted (or perhaps hit by a car and then taken away to hide his body) was ever found. There were rumors that Paul had hitchhiked out of the area, as he had been known to occasionally hitchhike in the past. But he had never randomly gone off and hitched a ride without telling someone, he had just sometimes hitchhiked to a destination he had planned on travelling to already. I did not find mention of canine trackers tracking Paul to the main gates in the newspaper archives, and I never heard this from anyone else.
During the autumn of 1972, a few months after Mr. Schroeder went missing, the RCMP did another air search of the air due to the increased visibility after the trees had lost their leaves. There was another extensive ground search done at this time as well.
Paul Schroeder was never seen again, and none of his clothing was ever found.
I hope his family was able to find healing after such a strange and tragic event. And I hope that one day someone is able to find a clue as to what happened to Mr. Schroeder 51 years ago at Sunset Point.
If you're interested in supporting the channel please consider subscribing - I upload at least one new video per week.
Thanks for watching!
#missingpersonsmysteries #missingpersonscases
This is the case of the disappearance of 72 year old Paul Schroeder from the Sunset Point Christian Camp (then called the German Pentecostal Camp) on the shores of Lac Ste. Anne in central Alberta on July 6 1972.
I grew up attending one of the churches that is part of this camp, and I have spent a lot of time here over the years. Various family members have had cabins in this camp over the years. I even worked out at the camp during my high school summers. Mr. Schroeder disappeared before I was born.
Mr. Schroeder was 72 years old when he disappeared, and he was married with children and grandchildren. Both Paul and his son Alf had family cabins at the camp, and there was an annual church camp gathering that took place there around the beginning of July.
Paul and his family had been attending the camp that summer, and on July 6 the camp was winding down and the family discussed travelling back to Edmonton together as a group. Mr. Schroeder reportedly cut the grass in front of his cabin, gathered water for his wife Auralia to make coffee with and then disappeared. When his family gathered to leave, Paul was nowhere to be found. Some other people in the camp said that they had seen Paul shortly after he went missing, and he was walking on the east side of the camp. This is very vague, the east side of the camp is where Paul's cabin was located and this is the larger portion of the camp. Very quickly, most of the people at the camp were looking for Mr. Schroeder and they had recruited many local residents living in the area.
Soon the Alberta Beach fire chief, Bill Nicoll, has gathered his team and they were assisting in the search. Later that evening, the Stony Plain RCMP were notified and the search intensified. Over the next week, police airplanes and helicopters combed the ground form the sky. Multiple police and civilian boats dragged the lake and scoured the shoreline, and the local Sturgeon River was also searched extensively. Searchers walked "shoulder-to-shoulder" throughout the camp and surrounding areas looking for the lost man. The RCMP put out a bulletin that alerted various police detachments throughout Western Canada, and bus/train stations and airports were searched throughout urban centers. 2 busloads of troops were brought in from the Edmonton military barracks to assist in the search as well.
It was the largest search in the entire county of Lac Ste. Anne.
I few years ago, I had the chance to briefly talk with Bill Nicoll on the phone, he was the fire chief in Alberta Beach when Paul went missing. He said that multiple canine trackers tracked Paul's scent to the main gates of the camp, and then they lost the scent at this location. This would certainly suggest that Paul was picked up at the main gates. No evidence of Paul being abducted (or perhaps hit by a car and then taken away to hide his body) was ever found. There were rumors that Paul had hitchhiked out of the area, as he had been known to occasionally hitchhike in the past. But he had never randomly gone off and hitched a ride without telling someone, he had just sometimes hitchhiked to a destination he had planned on travelling to already. I did not find mention of canine trackers tracking Paul to the main gates in the newspaper archives, and I never heard this from anyone else.
During the autumn of 1972, a few months after Mr. Schroeder went missing, the RCMP did another air search of the air due to the increased visibility after the trees had lost their leaves. There was another extensive ground search done at this time as well.
Paul Schroeder was never seen again, and none of his clothing was ever found.
I hope his family was able to find healing after such a strange and tragic event. And I hope that one day someone is able to find a clue as to what happened to Mr. Schroeder 51 years ago at Sunset Point.
If you're interested in supporting the channel please consider subscribing - I upload at least one new video per week.
Thanks for watching!
