RCMP investigating the disappearance of Lisa Marie Young 19 years ago say new witnesses have come forward with credible information on the cold case which have led to ground searches.
Young was 19 when she vanished on June 30, 2002 after leaving a downtown Nanaimo nightclub. RCMP consider the case a homicide.
Cpl. Markus Muntener, lead investigator, told a news conference Saturday police are using ground-penetrating radar after receiving information from new witness statements at undisclosed sites around Nanaimo and have recently been using a dog trained in finding human remains.
Further searches are planned as information is gathered from witnesses, police said.
“With the passage of time and change in their circumstances and lifestyle, they now feel it is the right thing to do and have provided key statements to the police,” said Muntener.
He said the case involves all seven officers in Nanaimo RCMP’s homicide division. About 15,000 documents have been collected and hundreds of people have been interviewed.
“Any new information is important,” said Muntener. “It opens another door.”
Young would have been 40 this year. No arrests have ever been made in the case. She was last seen leaving the nightclub to get something to eat with a man in a red Jaguar.
RCMP encouraged anyone who may have information to come forward, hoping some witnesses who may have been uncomfortable talking to police in the past will do so now.
“We want other people out there who may have information to come forward. Come talk to us, and help us move the investigation forward,” said Muntener.
Young’s grandfather, Chief Moses Martin of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, encouraged anyone with information to come forward. He said the family is still struggling with Young’s disappearance, and the discoveries of unmarked graves at former Indigenous residential schools has added to the grief.
“We’ve had some really bad news the last couple of months about the children who didn’t come home … Lisa didn’t come home either,” Martin said at the RCMP detachment. “We know how people are feeling.”
Young’s aunt, Carol Frank, pleaded for any witnesses from that June 30 night 19 years ago. “If anyone out there who knows something … come forward to bring peace to Lisa and our family.”
Frank and her sister, Marlene Joanne Young — Lisa’s mother — organized a memorial march together until 2017, when Marlene died without ever knowing what happened to her daughter.
The march to Maffeo Sutton Park Saturday afternoon was a sea of orange shirts. A series of speakers included Judith Sayers, president of the Nuu-chah-nulth tribal council, Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog, MLA Sheila Malcomson and MP Paul Manly.
Police are asking if anyone has previously passed on information to police and are unclear if the information was received or not, to contact the investigative team.
To provide information, call the Nanaimo RCMP non-emergency line at 250-754-2345.
