A year after Geoffrey Meisner vanished in a case police believe centres on drug dealing and organized crime, a judge has declared the father of four dead.
Meisner's wife, Tammy, was granted the request in B.C. Supreme Court in Kelowna Monday, with the judge agreeing there was overwhelming evidence her husband of 12 years was no longer alive.
The 275-pound salesman and mixed martial arts fighter was last seen outside a local shopping mall on Nov. 27, 2009. His 2010 Ford F350 truck was found abandoned outside a Starbucks later that night.
In a court petition filed earlier this month, Tammy Meisner said her husband was known to be associated with organized criminal gangs, including the Hells Angels and the King Pin Crew, a gang with roots in Kelowna.
She said none of his bank accounts or credit cards have been used after he was last seen, and his Canadian passport remains in her possession.
The family's home in West Kelowna, as well as their four vehicles and boat were registered in Meisner's name only. Tammy said she and her four daughters, now ages six to 11, have suffered financial hardships in his absence, and she has been forced to rely on the generosity of family and strangers.
In a sworn affidavit, Sgt. Joanne Skrine, a lead investigator in the case, said RCMP believes Meisner died at the hands of the criminal gangs he was associated with.
Const. Steve Holmes told ctvbc.ca there are still no suspects in the case, and police are still investigating the circumstances of his disappearance.
"One thing we know is that he was a beloved family man and he loved his daughters," Holmes said.
"For a man to walk away from that is unreasonable. We're at the point that there's obviously enough evidence in the investigation that leads to the belief he was the victim of a homicide."
