It's a devastating blow for a British Columbia family, who fought to keep a notorious killer behind bars.
That killer is David Shearing, who killed six members of the Bentley and Johnson families in Wells Gray Park, in the B.C. Interior, in 1982.
Last month, family members were relieved to hear Shearing -- who has changed his name to Ennis -- was denied parole at a hearing at the Bowden Institution in central Alberta.
But on Monday, they got the word from Corrections Canada that he will be granted a four-hour escorted day pass on Wednesday.
They want the residents of Red Deer, Alberta to know this convicted killer will be in their community.
They were not told the reason for his day pass.
Related links: No parole for notorious B.C. camping killer
In August 1982, Ennis killed George and Edith Bentley, their daughter Jackie Johnson, son-in-law Bob and grandchildren Janet, 13, and Karen, 11.
The family had been camping in Wells Gray Park.
Police launched a massive search after Bob Johnson, who worked at a sawmill in Westbank, B.C., did not return to his job.
About a month later, the bodies of the four adults were found in a charred vehicle on the side of a mountain. In the trunk, police found the corpses of the two young girls.
The investigation eventually led to Shearing, who now goes by his mother's maiden name of Ennis, and he was arrested in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., in November 1983.
Following an intense interrogation, Shearing eventually confessed to shooting the six family members, loading the bodies into the car and setting it on fire.
In April 1984, he pleaded guilty to six counts of second-degree murder and received a sentence of life in prison with no eligibility for parole for 25 years.
Last summer, friends of the victims launched a petition urging officials to keep Ennis behind bars. It drew more than 5,000 signatures
