Tyler’s story: Whiskey Creek victim remembered as a gentle, kind man

On Nov. 1, 2020, a dirt biker finds a man lying near a dirt road close to the community of Whiskey Creek on Vancouver Island. That man is Tyler. He is the third victim of a Halloween night massacre at an encampment in the woods. Shanda Atkinson and her partner Shawn McGrath were identified by local reporters shortly after the incident.

Tyler and one other young man, a survivor of the attack, have never been publicly identified. Today, their families fear retribution.

But Tyler’s story is now being told in ‘Whiskey Creek,’ a new true crime podcast series about the incident.

Tyler’s mother approached ‘Island Crime’ about looking into her son’s murder in an email that read:

“I would like to discuss with you an unsolved case involving my son. I would like to know if you would be interested in delving into it and possibly getting some answers.”

Tyler is a born and raised Vancouver Islander. He was born at St. Joseph’s General Hospital in 1982.

Both his mother and father describe him as a ‘softhearted kind boy’ and a ‘lovely kid.’

Growing up on the island, Tyler loved camping and fishing.

One of Tyler’s best friends is dumbfounded when he hears rumours that Tyler has been murdered.

“I can’t remember who told me and then I didn’t believe it at first. Cause I mean, Tyler, murdered? Yeah. Right. I immediately just knew that it, it was, he had to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, that it had nothing to do with, um, him doing anything wrong.”

He and Tyler met when they were about 10 years old. They both had learning disabilities and were in some of the same classes. He laughs as he thinks back on childhood memories with Tyler.

“Tyler was always up for whatever. We spent a lot of time mountain biking and he was just a happy kid, just like all of us. I mean, we grew up in the suburbs, so you know, there’s really nothing to not be happy about. We got, the ocean, the river, and the, and the mountains.”

But growing up, Tyler’s mother believes her son was bullied.

“He used to get teased a lot about his learning disabilities all through his school life”

Tyler plays hockey and the harassment carries on there as well.

“He told me years later that the other guys who were the good hockey players used to throw his hockey gear in the shower and get it all wet and trip him up when he was coming out from the shower rooms to the ice. He was really bullied a lot that way, but he never fought back. He wasn’t a fighter.”

Although Tyler struggles in high school he manages to graduate.

“One of the happiest days, remembering his graduation, he wanted a white suit and he picked all that out and, you know, he was so proud to graduate.”

Throughout his adulthood, Tyler has a tough time finding and keeping a job. Tyler’s father owns a business and offers him employment. But working together proves difficult for both of them. Tyler’s mother recalls her boy trying to make a go of several occupations. He is a mover, a roofer, a cleaner.

Another source close to Tyler says that as an adult Tyler continued to be victimized.

“He was picked on. He never fought back. He never stood up for himself. He was, he was a very loving, loving person. Like, he wouldn’t hurt a fly.

“Tyler was a good, gentle man that only ever wanted to help people, He wasn’t a thief, he wasn’t a robber, he wasn’t a thug, he wasn’t a drug dealer. He just was escaping something, I guess.”

Tyler develops a substance abuse disorder. Here’s how his close friend describes the point in time when Tyler’s life goes downhill.

---

Related articles:

• Halloween night massacre in Whiskey Creek focus of new true crime podcast

• Whiskey Creek podcast renews conversations around victim blaming

• Three bodies found in remote spot on Vancouver Island, man in hospital: RCMP

---

“There’s another side to Courtney, other than the beautiful mountains and the rivers and the ocean. There’s this side that Tyler got caught up in. I’m not even sure how, how it happened, but I’ve seen it happen to other people too, and it happens really quickly. So it just blows me away. That this unfortunate thing, this horrible, horrible thing happened.”

In the years leading up to his murder, Tyler is using drugs and he is at times living in his vehicle or experiencing homelessness. In the fall of 2020, Tyler is residing in an encampment in Whiskey Creek when he is killed. His loved ones hold a lot of guilt for Tyler’s death.

“You think maybe if I would’ve visited in rehab, maybe if I would’ve gone to the counsellor, Maybe if I could have been there, You beat yourself. Maybe I could have helped. Maybe I could have been there.”

Tyler was likely in the wrong place at the wrong time. But because of fear and secrecy surrounding the ongoing investigation into the Whiskey Creek killings there has been no closure for those who cared for Tyler.

“I would love to see the person responsible for it behind bars. I would love to see the cops stop turning a blind eye because they just think it’s some junkie that was killed.
justice. Right. But legal justice, the way it’s supposed to be done.”

For now, Tyler’s family and friends continue to quietly grieve their loss, afraid to speak publicly about Tyler.

“These people are still alive, so that’s scary. I’m talking about the people that have done this, the people that have killed him, the people that are in charge, the people that are high up there, the people that run the dope on the island. They all work together.
It was a pretty big hit to just be some pedalling street thug.”

Tyler’s mother had a monument created for her son and placed it at the spot where he was killed. But even this small tribute is now gone, either stolen or removed.

If you have information about the 2020 Whiskey Creek murders, you’re asked to call the tip and information line at (250) 380-6211.

---

‘Whiskey Creek’ is a series for Rogers Frequency Network. You can listen to this series and other Island Crime episodes on all podcast platforms.

Rogers is the parent company of this station and the Frequency Podcast Network.