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A family mystery

Last month, Lawrence Martin wrote about Stephen Harper’s grandfather and the possibility that Harris Harper had taken his own life. Harris Harper’s son now steps forward to dispute that version of events in a lengthy response.

On Monday, the police got a credible report that a person matching his description had spent Saturday night (and maybe even Sunday night) at the Saint John Salvation Army Hostel. Three or four weeks later, the police distributed missing-person flyers throughout Canada and the United States – I helped stuff the envelopes – and there were several reports of sightings but none could be verified. Another distribution of missing-person flyers was carried out the next year with the same results.

After a year, there was a petition filed with the courts to have him declared dead, but it was pointed out that at that time, there was more evidence suggesting he was still alive, possibly a victim of amnesia. This, however, was never proved nor disproved.

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