Robert Payne Seward, 53, disappeared after picking up a fare in Edmonton. He was reported missing on Monday when he failed to return home. Later the same day his cab was found on a dead-end street near University Avenue and 108th street. On Tuesday morning at about 11:30 a farmer swathing his field near Gull Lake spotted Mr. Seward's body in a ditch. He had been shot in the head. Meanwhile, RCMP in Nisku picked up a 17-year-old man for pointing a gun at another Edmonton Yellow Cab driver. The man was released on his own recognizance but when they learned of Mr. Seward's murder the RCMP made a connection between the two cases and re-arrested the man at his home.

Mr. Seward's death provoked discussion of installing bullet-proof shields in cabs, but Yellow Cab general manager Ralph Wiedman said shields are not the answer. "They have been tried in the States and they just don't work," he said. "If a guy wants to get you he's going to get you."