Date of Disappearance and Activities

Charles had been in Canada since September 1988. He was wanting to re-acquaint himself with his paternal family and roots from Canada. He moved across the country during this time, visiting various places and working numerous seasonal jobs in hotels, holiday resorts, and within the local area. By early May 1989, Charles arrived in Kelowna, Canada. It is a low socio-economic tourist area, with several problems in drugs and organised crime in the area. Charles was not known to be involved in these activities but was a transient to the area. This may have made him vulnerable to opportunistic offenders in the area. One of his temporary employers introduced him to Tiny Tent Town campsite as somewhere to live quite cheaply. Charles seemed to be enjoying his time at in Canada and the campsite. He maintained frequent  contact with his mum, usually via letters or fax. The last time she heard from him was the 11th May 1989. He was committed to joining his mum in Hong Kong in August 1989, but was quite concerned about how he might afford this. However, Charles told his mum that he had some new employment which was offering good money, meaning he would be able to join her. There have been unconfirmed sightings of Charles after the 26th May 1989, but the police are unsure of their validity. 

On the 26th May, Charles went to work at the Flintstone Theme park for around 4 hours. After this,  he walked to the nearest bank to cash his work cheque. This was only around £20. It is then thought  Charles headed back to the campsite. After this, it is unknown what Charles did. There have been reports over the years that Charles was regularly seen on a boat with a grey-haired man, who was thought to be dangerous, and Charles had been warned to stay away from him. One of the main stories surrounding Charles’ disappearance that he was assaulted at a Tiny Tent Town party, where he was accidentally murdered. The campsite was searched, and several of Charles’ belongings were left or shared out among management at Tiny Tent. Over the years, Denise has travelled to Kelowna many times to continue the search for her son. She has privately paid for search teams to follow up on the notes that she received to her hotel during one of her visits. Although the search team recovered a body, this was not Charles. Many people have provided Denise with tips and information over the years, allowing her to piece together his movements around the 26th May. However, this has not yet led to the recovery of Charles, or further  indications as to his whereabouts.  

I began working with Denise in August 2020, and Charles’ disappearance was the first case I worked on. It is a very complex case, and the passage of time does make it more challenging to find available  and willing witnesses who might have information about Charles. We are committed to working with  Denise to help her search efforts.  

If you do have any information about Charles, you should consider the following contact sources  (alongside the contact button). 

Denise Horvath-Allan on search4charleshorvath@hotmail.co.uk or 020 9332 6776 / 011 44 208 332  6776  

You may also contact CrimeStoppers anonymously on 1-800-222-8477 or at www.crimestoppers.net