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Ten years later, still no answers in Bernie Carlson shooting

RCMP continue to look for answers in the murder of 61-year-old Bernie Carlson, which took place just over a decade ago, when he was shot in his own home by an unknown intruder in the middle of the night.
bernie and elva carlson
Bernie and Elva Carson were asleep on Oct. 26, 2007 when their dog started barking and Bernie got up to investigate. He was shot and killed by someone who had forced open the front door of his house and the killer has still not been caught.

RCMP continue to look for answers in the murder of 61-year-old Bernie Carlson, which took place just over a decade ago, when he was shot in his own home by an unknown intruder in the middle of the night.

The RCMP's historical case unit says Carlson's murder, which took place in Eastwood around 1 a.m. on Oct. 26, 2007, has haunted investigators.

"Here was a guy, asleep in his home, and seconds later, he was dead," said Sgt. Dan Barnabe, head of the historical case unit in a Nov. 3 press release. "Investigators at the time did everything they could, and now it sits with my team, who specialize in investigating historical homicides. We need to find out what happened to Mr. Carlson."

Bernie Carlson and Elva Carlson, his wife of 40 years, had gone to bed Oct. 25, 2007 with their home's front and back doors locked and one light left on. The couple's dog Missy started barking around 1 a.m., awakening them, and Bernie Carlson went to see what was the matter. Suddenly, Elva heard gunshots and footsteps running away and, when she went to the bedroom door, her husband was lying in the hallway, shot. She hid in the bedroom and called police, who arrived to find the front door forcibly opened and Bernie Carlson dead.

"I relive that night over and over," said Elva Carlson. "I want to know who did this. I want to know why they did this. Somebody knows what happened that night, and I beg them to come forward to the police."

Bernie Carlson left behind not only his wife but also two adult sons, one of whom realized a dream of becoming an RCMP officer at the age of 40, a few years after his father's death.

Sean Carlson told the Thompson Citizen last year that he would like answers in his father's killing as well.

“I miss him a lot,” Sean Carlson said at that time. “It’s never far from my thoughts at all. There isn’t a single day that goes by that I don’t think about it. I don’t let it dominate my thoughts, I don’t let it control my life. For the family, for myself as a person, I’d love to see an end to it, to have some amount of closure. Whether or not we get that remains to be seen. I hold a lot of hope and faith that someday someone will be arrested and charged and convicted and I firmly do believe that that day will come but we have to wait and see. If somebody does know something, by all means contact the Thompson RCMP. Let them take a look at it. Maybe it is nothing, maybe it’s the golden key that breaks it open."

Anyone with information about the death of Bernie Carlson 10 years ago can call the RCMP historical Crime Unit at 204-983-6880 or Manitoba Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477. Secure tips can be submitted online at www.manitobacrimestoppers.com or by texting "TIPMAN" plus a message to CRIMES (274637).

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