Meghan Wearne shivers slightly outside a Nanaimo nightclub as she waits for her cue.
The 16-year-old, dark-haired Ladysmith girl wears a black skirt, top, boots and an armband tattoo as she stands outside the front door of the former Jungle nightclub, now Club 241. She chats easily to a group of young men standing at a nearby red car.
But Wearne did not choose the club, outfit or even tattoo. Instead, she is emulating Lisa Marie Young, whose unsolved disappearance is one of Nanaimo's most high-profile missing persons cases.
The group is re-enacting Young's last-known movements in the hope that televising the footage will spark tips. For the first time, the case will be filmed as realistically as possible to be aired as part of a Crime Stoppers spot. Nanaimo RCMP hope reviving such unsolved cases can help jog a person's memory and generate fresh leads.
Wearne is one of several actors who volunteered her time late last week to help with the project. She read online websites to help familiarize herself with the case, which turned cold after Young left a nightclub in a red Jaguar with a group of people and attended several house parties. Young was only 21 when she disappeared on Canada Day weekend in 2002. Police said early on they believed Young may have met with foul play.
Wearne said it is eerie how much she resembles Young but the footage aims to be as realistic as possible by using locations, vehicles and props.
Police hope the exposure will prompt someone to step forward.
"We're hoping somebody may remember something," said Nanaimo RCMP spokesman Const. Gary O'Brien. "We're hoping it generates discussion."
The footage will air later this month on Shaw TV. Anyone with information is asked to call Nanaimo RCMP at 250-754-2345 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
