Friends, family of central Alberta woman wait for answers after man charged with murder

Madeline Smith · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 08, 2025 8:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

Nearly six years aft a Wetaskiwin woman disappeared without a trace, her loved ones are inactive waiting for answers.

Stan Cross, 49, has present been charged with first-degree execution successful the decease of 39-year-old Twyla Evans. She was past seen live connected the evening of Sept. 6, 2019, according to accusation released by the RCMP astatine the clip of her disappearance.

Evans's remains person ne'er been recovered contempt what constabulary picture arsenic "exhaustive" efforts.

"Investigators, however, continued to prosecute each disposable leads, and caller developments led to the apprehension of Stan Cross," Alberta RCMP said successful a connection past month.

RCMP accidental they proceed to enactment to "bring Twyla home," but her person Kelly Campbell told CBC News it's already been a agelong roadworthy to spot the probe progress.

"I don't personally recognize what took six years," she said.

Campbell said she hasn't heard Cross's sanction before, and she's not definite who helium is oregon however helium mightiness person known Evans.

The time Evans went missing, she was heading retired to spell spot a movie, but it wasn't wide whether she really attended, according to police.

Her greenish Jeep Compass was recovered the adjacent day, parked adjacent a market store connected the southbound extremity of Wetaskiwin, astir 70 kilometres southbound of Edmonton.

"There is simply a wide interest for Twyla's well-being," RCMP said successful a 2019 connection requesting tips connected her whereabouts.

There were no further nationalist updates until June 2025, erstwhile Mounties announced an apprehension successful the case, which was investigated by the humanities homicide unit.

Insp. John Spaans with the Wetaskiwin RCMP said successful a connection that it was "a peculiarly heartbreaking lawsuit owed to the important vulnerabilities the unfortunate faced successful her regular life."

Campbell said that's not however she remembers her friend, who loved driving her Jeep and readying outings with her son — helium was a teen erstwhile she went missing.

Evans and Campbell saw each different for the past clip about two and a fractional years earlier Evans disappeared, erstwhile Campbell took her up on an connection to spell spot Canadian stone set USS play a amusement successful Edmonton.

"Even though the study said 'vulnerable person,' she's not what we would deliberation of erstwhile you perceive those terms. She was a regular, mean idiosyncratic surviving her life, paying her bills, doing things she liked — similar going to the concerts," Campbell said.

"She did not unrecorded her beingness arsenic a susceptible person."

Evans had been experiencing immoderate intelligence wellness challenges she was moving through, Campbell said. She added her friend had besides struggled successful the years starring up to her disappearance erstwhile she unexpectedly recovered herself retired of a job.

But hearing Evans was missing was terrifying, Campbell said, and a daze for her community.

"I privation people to cognize that she was a loving mom, and that Twyla did attraction for the radical astir her."

Cross is owed to look successful tribunal successful Wetaskiwin on July 15.