Disappearance of Lisa Marie Young
On June 30, 2002, Lisa Marie Young, a 21‑year‑old Indigenous Canadian woman, disappeared from Nanaimo, British Columbia. Earlier that night, she had attended a local nightclub and two house parties before accepting a ride to a fast‑food restaurant from a man, Christopher William Adair, whom she and her friends had met at the club. Young has never been found, and her disappearance is being investigated as a homicide.
Early life
Lisa Marie Young was the eldest child and only daughter of Don Young and Marlene "Joanne" Martin. She has two younger brothers, Brian and Robin. Growing up in Nanaimo, she attended Brechin Elementary and Woodlands Secondary School. Young's maternal grandfather is Tribal Chief of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation on the West Coast of Vancouver Island; Joanne and both of her parents attended Kakawis Residential School on nearby Meares Island.Young was close with her family. Martin described her as an independent woman who was a hard worker with a hard head, and had "inner strength that was totally awesome." Dallas Hulley, an acquaintance of Young and the last person to hear from her, described Young as "outgoing, confident, bubbly," and said "She was somebody you noticed right away, at a party or a gathering, or whatever it was. She just had a light about her." Young was a vegetarian and a fitness enthusiast and enjoyed rollerblading at the waterfront.
She and a roommate lived next door to her parents in a Barons Road apartment building, but at the time of Young's disappearance, her father was helping her move into her own apartment in northern Nanaimo, something she was excited about. Young was also preparing to start a job at a call centre within two days of her disappearance, and considering pursuing higher education, with the hopes of becoming a television sports broadcaster.
Disappearance
On the night of June 29, 2002, Young left her parents' residence at 11:00 p.m. to go to a nightclub with several friends. Her parents found it strange, as Young had a busy schedule for the week.Young and Hulley were approached by Christopher William Adair, who invited them to a house party, offering them a ride in the red older-model Jaguar he was driving. They went to the party, and then to a second house party in the Cathers Lake area of Nanaimo. When Young said she was hungry, Adair offered to take her to get some food. Around 4:30 a.m. Young called Hulley's cellphone. Hulley later stated in an interview, "Sure enough it's Lisa on her cellphone. She goes
The final signal from Young's cell phone was traced to the Departure Bay area of Nanaimo.
Investigation
On July 1, 2002, Young's parents failed to hear from her. At first, they thought it was possible Young was too busy to answer her cellphone but grew concerned when Young's former roommate visited to ask about Young's whereabouts. After calling every phone number in her phone book, Young's parents contacted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police detachment in Nanaimo. In the beginning, Young's parents were told to call when she had been missing for over 48 hours, however, an RCMP officer came over to the Young's household later that evening to ask questions and get a photograph of Young. A few days later, the RCMP told Young's parents that her disappearance was being investigated by their Serious Crime Unit.Police concluded that foul play was likely involved after Young left a house party in the Cathers Lake area and subsequently, several searches were conducted in remote areas in and near Nanaimo, revealing nothing.
In late July 2002, police questioned Adair, the driver of the Jaguar. Young's mother was taken by RCMP to a short meeting with Adair. She later stated that she asked him to tell her where her daughter was, and he replied, "I can't... I'm sorry, I don't mean to disrespect your family." The man was eventually later released; no charges were laid. Police later stated, "The driver, like many others involved in this file, is simply a person of interest." The Jaguar was eventually located, seized by RCMP for inspection, and later released. It was determined that the car was owned by the driver's grandmother, who subsequently sold the Jaguar, and threatened to sue over talk that could implicate her grandson in the disappearance. Police did not begin searching for Young until she had been missing for two months, "leaving the job for... relatives and friends to do on their own."
Following a one-year vigil held for Young in 2003, Lisa's mother was contacted by Chemainus psychic Christine Brant. Based on the information provided by Brant, Young's family asked Terry Tom and Andrew Jackson — both certified divers from Young's west coast Tla-o-qui-aht band — to search the reservoirs at Colliery Dam Park, located between Nanaimo Lakes Road and Harewood Mines Road. A private dive team conducted a subaqueous search at the park on July 25, 2003.
In December 2020, Nanaimo RCMP conducted searches related to the case, at two locations in Nanaimo, as well as part of Morrell Nature Sanctuary. One of the locations was a residential property located at 827 Nanaimo Lakes Road, which is adjacent to Morrell Sanctuary and less than 200 meters from Colliery Dam's upper reservoir.
In June 2021, the Nanaimo RCMP hosted a press conference on the front steps "to provide an update on the status of the Lisa Marie Young missing person investigation". RCMP Cpl. Markus Muntener, current co-lead investigator on the case, reported that based on new and historical information, "numerous searches" for Young have taken place in the last year, utilizing ground-penetrating radar and a police dog, and he said additional searches at undisclosed locations were planned.
There have been no arrests made in connection to Young's disappearance, despite police having received "15,000 documents and hundreds of witnesses in Young's file".
In February 2022, an anonymous American donor offered a US$50,000 reward for information that leads investigators to the location of Young's remains. RCMP Constable Hayley Pinfold stated that investigators are "hoping that this might be enough to encourage some of those people to bring those final pieces forward". Police have stated that they believe that finding Young's remains would be the break they need, and called the reward offer "significantly important."
Search efforts
Family
On July 3, 2002, Young's family contacted the local media; the next morning the story was on the front page of the Nanaimo Daily News, "Parents fear daughter the victim of foul play". The following day the story was in the news in the provincial capital, Victoria, and by the following week, it was picked up by newspapers province-wide.Young's father's employer, Purolator Courier, printed thousands of "missing person" posters which the company's delivery drivers distributed to businesses across Vancouver Island. Within days, posters were visible at the majority of Island stores and businesses.
Young's extended family and First Nations members put up a reward of $11,500 for information about the case.
Between July and December 2002, dissatisfied with police efforts on the case, Tla-o-qui-aht Chief Moses Martin organized the Tribal Search & Rescue into several massive search efforts in multiple locations in Nanaimo and other communities, "from Coombs to Tofino". For each search, Search & Rescue members would commute from Tofino, a 3-hour drive to Nanaimo. Search teams consisted of up to 30 volunteers, as well as divers who searched a reservoir at Colliery Dam Park. Searches took place between July and December 2002, and in the spring/summer of 2003.
The family contacted Young's bank and cellphone provider and were able to determine that the bank account had funds but no activity, and the final signal from Young's phone was sent from the Departure Bay area of Nanaimo.
Community
Many area businesses made donations to the search effort.The owner and staff of the Jungle Cabaret made a "generous cash donation" to the search fund, and also donated the use of a billboard near Petroglyph Park. Another billboard was installed on the side of the Foundry Pub in 2003.
For several months beginning in December 2019, billboard advertising space was rented alongside the Island Highway near Nanoose Bay, with large signage stating "Lisa Marie Young, Missing, Brown Eyes, 5'4", Tattoo Flower Band on Right Arm, Call Nanaimo RCMP". Funding for the rental and signage was raised through private sales of beaded red dress pins and earrings, handmade by volunteers of the "Lil' Red Dress Project". A related public art installation titled "The REDress Project", was created in 2010 by Métis artist Jaime Black, in response to the missing and murdered Indigenous women epidemic in Canada and the United States. The installation has been exhibited in more than 30 locations around North America, most recently at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. Annually since 2010, "Red Dress Day" is honoured on Young's birthday, the 5th of May.
False claims
Within 2 weeks of Young's disappearance, members of her extended family received several phone calls from unknown callers claiming that Young's body had been located in nearby Lantzville. RCMP stated that a week earlier, similar rumours had appeared on multiple online chat sites, therewith claiming that Young's body was located in the nearby town of Ladysmith. In August 2003, RCMP issued a second statement refuting new claims that had surfaced again saying that Young's body has been recovered. The statement went on to explain that these rumours were causing a great deal of anguish and distress for Young's family.Similarities in the false claims, along with the fact that the incidents each started and stopped within short, specific time periods which aligned with spikes in investigative activity, raised questions as to whether the misinformation was purposeful in an attempt to distract investigators and the public, rather than being senseless hoaxes, as was initially assumed by the media and the RCMP.