Convicted kidnapper Donald Hay dies in Saskatoon
Posted June 4, 2012 3:40 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
SASKATOON (NEWS1130) – A man who kidnapped, raped and held a 12-year-old girl in an underground bunker in his Port Moody home more than three decades ago has died.
Donald Hay was 79.
The Correctional Service of Canada says Hay passed away on Sunday at the Regional Psychiatric Centre in Saskatoon.
In 1976 he kidnapped young Abby Drover and kept her as a sex slave in a tiny dungeon under his garage, repeatedly raping her or leaving her alone, often handcuffed and at times with food and water.
Hay was Drover’s neighbour and her mother said he sometimes drove local children to school.
He also took part in the search for Drover, all the while keeping her locked away.
Police rescued the girl 181 days later almost by chance when Hay’s wife called police fearing Hay had killed himself in his garage.
An officer on scene said he heard whining and looked down a shaft; a frail Abby Drover was climbing up after police spotted Hay outside the secret entrance with his pants down.
Hay pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison in 1977, but applied for parole several times during his incarceration.
He was denied each time, a National Parole Board telling him in 2002, “You continue to focus on alcohol as the primary cause of your offending indicating it is the trigger for your deviancy. Your explanation for the time spent on this offence again relies on alcoholism without concern for the victim, or an understanding of your treatment of this young person during that time.”
Abby Drover spoke out against Hay’s application for release that same year.
“He’s not ready. He’s still in denial,” Drover said. “He’s still lying, and I’m just glad the parole board could see that.”
