Crew working on Jodi Henrickson documentary notifies B.C. police of possible evidence

Possible lead in B.C. cold case? Police were called to Bowen Island, where Jodi Hendrickson was last seen in 2009, by a crew working on a documentary about the case.

Homicide investigators visited Bowen Island over the weekend after B.C. filmmakers working on a documentary about the 2009 disappearance of Jodi Henrickson turned up potential evidence in the cold case.

Jenni Baynham, producer of the upcoming documentary “Finding Jodi,” told CTV News the crew visited Bowen Saturday with a team from the Canadian Cadaver Canines Association to investigate a tip they had received.

“Two of the cadaver dogs indicated an area of interest, which by the cadaver dog protocol meant that we had to contact the RCMP and let them know,” Baynham said.

The filmmakers and the CCCA team then remained on the island overnight to meet with members of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team on Sunday.

“The homicide team arrived and did a preliminary inspection of the area,” Baynham said. “We left, and it’s in the RCMP’s hands now.”

The producer stressed that there is no indication that Henrickson’s remains were found at the scene, but said IHIT told the crew they intended to investigate further.

Contacted for comment Wednesday, homicide investigators once again urged anyone with information on the Henrickson case to come forward.

“Since IHIT took conduct of this investigation in 2010, we have been working diligently to pursue every investigational avenue available,” spokesperson Sgt. David Lee said in an email. “IHIT remains committed to finding out what happened to Jodi.”

Henrickson’s unsolved disappearance made national news 15 years ago, and left many parents across the small island, and B.C.’s Lower Mainland, shaken.

Authorities said the 17-year-old Squamish resident had told family she was going camping at Cultus Lake on June 19, 2009, but instead headed to Bowen for a house party.

She was last seen walking down a dark road with her then-boyfriend, 19-year-old Gavin Arnott, who had been charged with assaulting her the previous year.

The RCMP initially identified Arnott as a person of interest in the Henrickson case, but not a suspect, and investigators have never accused him of being involved in her disappearance.

Baynham told CTV News her team has been working on their documentary for four years, and hope to release their findings in 2025, but not before having a chance to meet with Arnott.

“It’s very important that we speak with the last known person to be seen with her alive,” Baynham said, adding that they currently have an interview scheduled with Arnott in March.

Last week, CTV News reported that Arnott had been charged with assaulting a woman in Alberta – though prosecutors said the charges were withdrawn due to an unco-operative witness.

Court documents show Gavin Arnott was accused of assault, assault with a weapon and mischief under $5,000 in connection with an incident near Drayton Valley back in August.

Retired RCMP officer Peter Cross, who helped investigate Henrickson’s disappearance, identified the alleged victim as Arnott’s common-law partner.

With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Mina Kerr-Lazenby