It's hard to argue against the beauty of the first winter snowfall.

A blanket of white covers everything, softening hard angles and inviting you to start afresh.

But all that beauty can be dangerous too.

Roads become treacherous to drive, and unplowed ones impassable.

Footprints are hidden by falling snow, making it difficult to follow tracks, even your own, which is trouble indeed when you're trying to find your way home.

In this way, winter's good at holding onto its secrets.

Anything left outdoors is quickly buried. The woods grow eerily silent. Lakes are left to the ice fishermen.

What do you do then, in the heart of a northern winter, when the answers you're in search of might lie at the bottom of a frozen lake?

Kim Cooper and Mike Grebler in the Holmes Lake area (David Ridgen)

In episode seven of SKS, David and members of the Ottawa Valley Search and Rescue Dog Association return to a snow-covered Holmes Lake.

Weeks earlier, four cadaver dogs seemed to suggest that they were detecting the scent of human remains coming from the lake.

All four made intriguing signals at a specific spot along the shoreline — about 150 meters from where a missing five-year-old boy, Adrien McNaughton, was last seen in 1972.

If Adrien somehow drowned in the lake that day, his remains might now be entombed below a thick layer of ice.

But the winter can't hold onto its secrets forever.

All that's required is a little patience and the spring thaw.

Someone Knows Something is an episodic series, best listened to in order. Click here to catch up on any episodes that you may have missed.

Show notes

In episode three of SKS, we learned that John Gervais was fishing near Holmes Lake on June 12, 1972, the day Adrien McNaughton disappeared.

Earlier in the day — before Adrien and his family arrived — Gervais saw a car parked at the lake.

He has identified this car as a black and white 1956 Dodge Lancer or Coronet.

A similar car is pictured below:

A 1956 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer (Rick Carey)

Gervais met and spoke to the two men, two women and couple of kids who were driving the car. The group were strangers to the area and weren't seen or heard from again.

Might they have information that could help solve the mystery surrounding Adrien's disappearance?

Police knew about the Dodge, but didn't follow up on the lead. The vehicle was not reported in the media at that time.