Jaguar

From lisamarieyoung.ca
Jaguar XJ-40
Gerry Adair's Jaguar XJ-40
Photo by Joanne Young

Lisa Marie Young was last seen leaving a party in the Cathers Lake area of Nanaimo,[1] getting into a maroon late‑'80s Jaguar XJ‑40[2] driven by Chris Adair.[3][4]

Chris had purported the car to be his own,[5] but, in reality, it was owned by his grandparents[6] — Bill Kurtz, a former Mayor of Parksville,[7] and Gerry Adair, a prominent real estate agent[8] — who lived in Qualicum Beach,[9] a retirement community 50km north of Nanaimo.[9]

"Sure enough it's Lisa on her cell phone", said Hulley at the time. "She goes 'Dallas, I don't know what's going on. This guy won't bring me back. We're sitting in a driveway on Bowen Road and he won't bring me back.' She says, 'I'm bored. I'm getting pissed off." Police believe Young met with foul play and are still investigating her disappearance. I want to bash my knuckles against the cement, Hulley said in 2002."
Dallas Hulley interview recorded August 2002.
CHEK News, Mar 26, 2018 (Kendall Hanson)[10] (video)

An hour after leaving the second houseparty, Lisa's last phone call was made to Dallas, from the driveway of a home on Bowen Road,[10] most likely while still sitting in the Jaguar.[5]

After Lisa sent her final text message,[11] her cellphone stopped functioning in the Departure Bay area.[12] The Jaguar was reportedly used to bring Lisa to a third houseparty, also in the Departure Bay area, and several hours later, to transport her and her soon-to-be-killer back to the location of the first houseparty,[5] 827 Nanaimo Lakes Road.

Earlier in the day, Lisa's parents were already extremely distressed about Lisa's failure to show up for plans made with her father,[13] who was to help her move into her new apartment. This was unlike Lisa, who normally kept in touch with her family;[14] she had purchased a cellphone specifically so her parents could always reach her[13] — and had never before turned it off[15] — but now calls to her phone were going straight to voicemail.[16]

Her parents retrieved their daughter's phone number book and called every one of her friends.[17] None knew her current whereabouts, but several said they'd seen Lisa leaving with a man in a red or maroon Jaguar.[2]

Two days later Lisa's parents relayed this information to reporter Paul Walton of the Nanaimo Daily News and the following morning, the Jaguar's description began circulating the media, eventually reaching national publications, as well as being discussed in the House of Commons at Parliament in Ottawa, and in Vancouver at the Prime Minister's National Inquiry into Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls.

One of the "missing" posters distributed by Lisa's family to 1000's of locations across Vancouver Island

By the end of the month, Lisa's parents had tracked down the Jaguar to its owner's home, in Qualicum Beach. Lisa's mother photographed the vehicle and the image and driver's name were subsequently used to update "missing" posters. Prior to their distribution, Lisa's father decided to give RCMP investigators a heads-up about the change. He was warned not to proceed, but, frustrated by the lack of police progress in Lisa's case,[18] the family went ahead anyway.[13]

Lisa's parents were warned by RCMP, then threatened with charges of Obstruction of Justice. Investigators also relayed a threat from the Jaguar's owner that she would sue Lisa's parents if they continued pushing for information.[6] RCMP eventually formally "cut off" Lisa's parents from any further details on the official investigation into their daughter's disappearance.

When investigators finally located the Jaguar, they were able to track down the driver, Chris Adair, to Kamloops, where he was then arrested on unrelated outstanding charges of Fraud and Theft.[19][20] In an apparent violation of Adair's rights, these charges were used as reason to transport him back to Vancouver Island where he was questioned about his involvement in Lisa's disappearance, then released[20] without ever providing a reasonable explanation for the circumstances under which Lisa exited the Jaguar prior to her murder.

The Fraud charge "disappeared" during Adair's transfer by RCMP, back to Vancouver Island. Adair was convicted on the remaining charge of Theft, but, instead of jail time (and despite his history of related recidivism), he was handed an unusually lenient Conditional Sentence Order — which he violated within a month[20] by Assaulting a Police Officer[9] in his hometown of Yorkton, Saskatchewan.[6] He was again transferred back to Nanaimo[20] where he was convicted of the new charge, but sentenced to only one day in jail. Soon afterwards, Adair left the country, reportedly first to Japan[21] before settling in Turkey where he reportedly continues to reside.[22]

When police eventually seized the Jaguar for forensic inspection, they found that the car had recently been thoroughly steam-cleaned, effectively destroying any DNA evidence which may have been present.[4][23]

Amid the scandalous negative attention on the Jaguar, Geraldine Adair subsequently sold the classic car[6] in which Lisa was last seen by her friends. Gerry's former-mayor husband Bill passed away a few months later,[7] and she joined him several years later.


The word "Jaguar" has appeared in the media at least 168 times, in articles related to the disappearance of Lisa Marie Young.

See also


Sources

  1. Denise Titian, Ha-Shilth-Sa (May 15, 2012), Family seeks closure 10 years after daughter's disappearance (source)
  2. 2.0 2.1 Paul Walton, Nanaimo Daily News (July 10, 2002), Police fear local met with foul play (source)
  3. Kendall Hanson, CHEK News (Feb 17, 2021), Exercise challenge aims to bring attention to missing Nanaimo woman's case (source)
  4. 4.0 4.1 Paul Manly, House of Commons (Oct 8, 2020), Debates (Hansard) No. 12 (43-2) at 1525 (source)
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 This information was provided directly to the author by a credible, reliable source who was present. ✎ Sworn declaration can be provided as needed.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Allison Crowe, allisoncrowe.com (July 27, 2020), Lisa Marie Young Help Find Lisa Missed by family and loved ones from Nanaimo (source)
  7. 7.0 7.1 Today in Business (June 12, 2003), William (Bill) Dudley Kurtz - Obituary (source)
  8. Laura Palmer, Island Crime podcast (June 21, 2022), s1e10: Red Jag Guy #1 (source)
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 Jason Proctor, Vancouver Province (Sep 2, 2002), Where is Lisa-Marie? (source)
  10. 10.0 10.1 Andy Neal, CHEK News (Mar 26, 2018), Man dies after being struck by a vehicle in Nanaimo Sunday (source)
  11. Verity Stevenson, Toronto Star (Aug 6, 2016), Inquiry brings back memories of Nanaimo woman missing since 2002 (source)
  12. Ha-Shilth-Sa (June 13, 2013), Walk to remember Lisa Marie Young (source)
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 Jim Gibson, Times Colonist (Apr 4, 2004), The case Nanaimo can't forget (source)
  14. Paul Walton, Nanaimo Daily News (July 9, 2002), RCMP keep searching for woman (source)
  15. Jim Gibson, Calgary Herald (Apr 18, 2004), Lisa Marie Young: Vanished (source)
  16. Paul Walton, Nanaimo Daily News (July 4, 2002), Parents fear daughter the victim of foul play (src)
  17. Allison Crowe, NWAC (May 1, 2015), Story Telling - Lisa Marie Young (PDF) (source)
  18. Ruth Olgilvie, Ha-Shilth-Sa (Aug 14, 2003), Investigation for missing woman frustrates family (source)
  19. Rebekah Schroeder, Medium (Sep 21, 2021), Seeing Red in Nanaimo - The Case of Lisa Marie Young (source)
  20. 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 BC Provincial Court Services Online, Government of BC, Search Traffic/Criminal
      → Enter Last Name: (Adair), First: (Christopher), Enter Image Text, change no other fields, click Search
  21. Laura Palmer, Island Crime podcast (May 22, 2020), s1e03: Searching for Lisa (source)
  22. Laura Palmer, Island Crime podcast (June 28, 2022), s1e11: Red Jag Guy #2 (src)
  23. Malcolm McColl, McColl Magazine (Feb 26, 2011), Lisa Marie Young Disappeared, One of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Not Forgotten (source)