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Tue Jun 19, 2012 12:22 pm

Not to be too morbid here.. But what ever happened to Erik Wilsons camper? Someone at the office told me about a story in 1976 about an ottawa student that was murdered travelling across the US. He was friends of the family. I am assuming it was crushed due to the circumstances.

Tue Jun 19, 2012 4:59 pm

I remember watching a movie (Into Thin Air) about this several years back. Not sure what happened to the bus though.

Tue Jun 19, 2012 8:12 pm

I am totally going to watch this.
http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/missingkid/index.html

Tue Jun 19, 2012 9:01 pm

Joey wrote: I remember watching a movie (Into Thin Air) about this several years back. Not sure what happened to the bus though.

"into Thin Air" was about an everest expedition. "into The Wild" was about a boy who was searching for adventure and died in Denali. There was a movie made based on this book Both books are non-fiction and are authored by Jon Krakauer. Neither book had anything to do with Eric Wilson.

Tue Jun 19, 2012 9:13 pm

I poked around a little bit via google and found this tidbit:

NOTE: In 1985, the story of the Wilson family's search for their son Eric was made into a feature film called, Into Thin Air, starring Ellen Burstyn and produced by Ron Howard.

Didn't find anything out about the fate of the camper, though.

Tue Jun 19, 2012 9:13 pm

jmstu76 wrote: "into Thin Air" was about an everest expedition. "into The Wild" was about a boy who was searching for adventure and died in Denali. There was a movie made based on this book Both books are non-fiction and are authored by Jon Krakauer. Neither book had anything to do with Eric Wilson.

Do a little research (read the article posted in the link above) and you'll find that there was indeed a Canadian film titled "Into Thin Air" in 1985, which was based on this tragic story.

Just watched the "update" of the "Missing Kid" film... made my blood boil! :evil:

As for the poor Bus, one of two things most likely happened: It was returned to the family, or it was auctioned off.

Tue Jun 19, 2012 9:15 pm

kamzcab86 wrote: jmstu76 wrote: "into Thin Air" was about an everest expedition. "into The Wild" was about a boy who was searching for adventure and died in Denali. There was a movie made based on this book Both books are non-fiction and are authored by Jon Krakauer. Neither book had anything to do with Eric Wilson.

Do a little research (read the article posted in the link above) and you'll find that there was indeed a Canadian film titled "Into Thin Air" in 1985, which was based on this tragic story.

Just watched the "update" of the "Missing Kid" film... made my blood boil! :evil:

As for the poor Bus, one of two things most likely happened: It was returned to the family, or it was auctioned off.

My bad. So krakauer ripped off the title. Interesting.

Wed Jun 20, 2012 2:32 pm

Sun Jul 22, 2012 9:02 pm

I am Eric's brother. The question was asked on this site "whatever happened to [the] camper... I am assuming it was crushed due to the circumstances."

The camper was written off by our Canadian insurance company and left in the impoundment yard in Brunswick, Maine, for some time in case it had to be used for evidence. It was not returned to the family, nor did we request it. When I returned to Brunswick two years later to film the documentary "Just Another Missing Kid", I was told that it had been sold at auction. I have made no effort to follow it since, although I may have the VIN somewhere. In the documentary (http://www.cbc.ca/75/2011/10/the-fifth-estate---just-another-missing-kid.html) we mention the only good police work done in the case: when the police in Brunswick traced the ownership back to Canada despite a stolen Texas license plate on it when it was seized and despite the fact that it had never been imported by any VW dealer in North America. (It had been purchased new from the factory in Germany by a previous owner -- a Canadian military officer, I believe -- who imported it to Canada personally.) As described in the documentary, my family owes a real debt of gratitude to the police officers in Brunswick, Maine, who went to such efforts to find us.

When making the documentary, we rented proxies for the camper in Ottawa and across the States from Maine to Nebraska to California.

I only hope that the subsequent owners of the camper have had good times with it. My brothers and I certainly loved it.

If I am able to find the VIN, would anyone on this site be able to trace it?

Sun Jul 22, 2012 9:37 pm

Hello KZT914,

First of all, let me say I'm very sorry for your loss. Also, thank you for taking the time to share that info here. The internet is an amazing thing for sure. I do not personally know how to track the VIN but I believe it can be done and I'm sure someone here will be able to help with that.

Sun Jul 22, 2012 9:53 pm

Thanks, stuco, for your kind words. I would love to learn that the camper has had a happy life since 1978. On the other hand, I would not want to upset its current owners if they are unaware of its tragic history.

Mon Jul 23, 2012 5:03 am

I am also very sorry for your loss. But yes, the internet is amazing.

Mon Jul 23, 2012 7:04 am

oh my goodness, what a harrowing story.

i am touched by this on so many levels. in 1978 i was an ottawa teenager almost out of high school. i never heard of this story until seeing this thread, and today i watched the 5th estate story online. almost unbelievable. i urge anyone reading here to watch the story in the link above, you will be in shock and awe by what occurred.

in my 20's i travelled extensively, sometimes alone, in my VW bus, and to think of how it must have made my parents feel to consider the "what if's" of a young person travelling alone across the vastness of the USA. now i have a son who's 16 and the mind races as to what could be.

the original posting asks what happened to his VW camper, a question which could not have been further from my mind after watching the 5th estate story. god bless erik wilson and his family.