Tips

Influx of tips

Frustrated by the lack of effort by RCMP during the first 48 hours after Lisa's disappearance, her parents started their own intensive investigative efforts. Lisa's father's coworkers at Purolator Courier distributed thousands of "missing" posters across Vancouver Island.

Tips began pouring in almost immediately, with over 150 received within three weeks.

Lisa was a popular, recognizable young woman, and a lot of people saw her at The Jungle and the first two house parties which she attended in the early hours on Canada Day 2002. Others rumours around town about what had happened that night, which generated many more tips — a flow which has never ceased, eventually numbering in the thousands.

Date		RCMP Quote
July 1, 2002	Day #0
July 9, 2002	Day #8	two dozen tips
July 10, 2002	Day #9	40 tips
July 12, 2002	Day #11	more than 100 tips
July 25, 2002	Day #24	well over 100 to 150 tips
June 21, 2012	Year #10	hundreds of tips
July 11, 2018	Year #16	substantial amount of tips
June 24, 2019	Year #17	more than 800 tips
June 5, 2020	Year #18	still receiving tips
May 5, 2021	Year #19	thousands of tips
June 26, 2022	Year #20	still getting new tips "a few times each month"

Tips received in July 2002 (ClickTap to view full size)

Tips received up to 2022 (ClickTap to view full size)

News about tips

Media articles discussing tips received by RCMP about Lisa's case

Date	Source	Excerpt
July 6, 2002	Nanaimo Daily News	Const. Jack Eubank said they have a number of tips they want to follow up
July 9, 2002	Nanaimo Daily News	Eubank said they have had two dozen tips officers were looking into and, "and more are coming in."
July 10, 2002	Nanaimo Daily News	One of the 40 tips, which serious crime investigators continue to examine, is that Young was last seen in a red or burgundy-coloured Jaguar
July 12, 2002	Nanaimo Daily News	Investigators with the Nanaimo RCMP serious crimes unit continue to follow up tips, now at more than 100.
July 23, 2002	Vancouver Sun	Police are asking for tips.
July 25, 2002	Nanaimo Daily News	Police appear to be no closer to solving the mystery of Young's disappearance, despite numerous tips."We've received well over 100 to 150 tips on the case," says Const. Jack Eubank of the Nanaimo RCMP.
Sep 2, 2002	Vancouver Province	Her maternal grandfather Moses Martin is tribal chief of the 800-member Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation. He has organized search parties from Coombs to Tofino following leads garnered from tips, hunches and psychics. "We check everything out," he says.
Sep 10, 2002	Nanaimo Daily News	Tip sparks new search for woman: Police will conduct a new search for a 21-year-old missing Nanaimo woman in "the days ahead" after getting a recent tip. Const. Jack Eubank said police got the tip in August and investigators had intended to begin the search after the Labour Day long weekend. The search, however, was delayed after the Sept. 1 shooting of Rosella Centis.
Sep 18, 2002	Nanaimo Daily News	Police quickly focused on a maroon Jaguar, after a tip she was last seen outside club in the vehicle.
July 25, 2003	Nanaimo Daily News	Tip from psychic prompts team to look for missing woman in Colliery Dam: Although police had a number of tips and were able to find the car and driver she was last seen in, they have so far been unable to learn what happened to her.
Apr 25, 2006	Nanaimo Daily News	Crime Stoppers guarantees permanent anonymity and pays up to $2,000 for tips leading to an arrest.
Sep 22, 2008	Times Colonist	Joanne Young, whose daughter Lisa Marie Young vanished from Nanaimo in 2002, found it "incredible" that the RCMP would refuse an opportunity to publicize cold cases and generate tips. "I just find it unreal that they're not out there to help," she said.
May 15, 2009	YouTube	Call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS
July 16, 2011	Nanaimo News Bulletin	"The police tell us that they're working on tips that come in, so that gives us some hope that they're still working on it," she said.
June 21, 2012	Nanaimo News Bulletin	"Based on the evidence gathered - and we have thousands of pieces of documentation, we have hundreds of tips, we have Crime Stoppers tips, we have the public calling, it's brought to the public's attention every year through the family's vigilance with their walks and not letting her memory fade — our members continue to work this file and, hopefully someday we'll get a break and we'll find out what happened," O'Brien said.
Aug 21, 2017	Ha-Shilth-Sa	The RCMP didn't go out to search until September even though tips were coming in. That bewildered and frustrated not only Joanne, but the entire family.
Sep 11, 2017	Ha-Shilth-Sa	"My sister was upset because there was tips coming in and they weren't following up with the tips. It was our nation that pulled together, Tla-o-qui-aht, and put a search team together."
July 11, 2018	Tofino-Ucluelet Westerly	O'Brien said a substantial amount of tips have 'come in regarding Lisa Marie's case. "Every one of those tips has been investigated and it's essential that we do so.
June 24, 2019	Ha-Shilth-Sa	Last year the family met with the RCMP's Major Crimes Unit, who brought a binder with more than 800 tips related to the case.
May 22, 2020	Island Crime	They were also getting tips from different people in the community who were calling them directly
June 5, 2020	NanaimoNewsNow	O'Brien said their detachment still receives tips in Young's disappearance.
June 28, 2020	CTV News	We've got a number of investigators working on it and people have come forward, recently. We're following up on tips.
Dec 17, 2020	CHEK News	One neighbour who didn't want to be identified for fear of retribution recalls seeing what looked like a body in a hammock in the backyard of the Nanaimo Lakes Road home around the time that Lisa Young went missing. Soon after, he says he saw equipment moving soil around in the back yard. He says he reported this to the police at the time.
May 5, 2021	Capital Daily	Paul Manly: "RCMP did not take this case seriously, making numerous mistakes and failing to act on important tips and suspects."
May 5, 2021	CHEK News	Despite thousands of tips over 19 years, annual vigils and appeals, no arrests have ever been made or her remains found.
June 26, 2021	NanaimoNewsNow	Rejuvenated efforts to solve a presumed homicide has resulted in new tips considered by police to be credible and important" to their investigation.
Sep 21, 2021	Medium	They hope to keep advancing the investigation with new information and a recent influx of tips. Young's file reportedly has over 15,000 documents and hundreds of witnesses.
Feb 2, 2022	NanaimoNewsNow	The reward will be paid out if the tip leads directly to Young's remains, not a suggestion of where she might be.
Feb 3, 2022	Muntener/Hall	Crimestoppers and the Nanaimo RCMP don't work together anymore. If you report a tip to Crimestoppers the police will not look into it. This is because of changes to the law. So if you have information we need you to go directly to the police. Corporal Markus Muntener is the lead investigator of Lisa's case and he is working hard to find Lisa. He communicates regularly with the family. We need you to trust Markus and his team. If you talk to the police they do not make it public you spoke with them. It only becomes public if Lisa's case goes to court and what you told the police is a part of Lisa's case. The police can offer you protection if you are concerned about your safety. Please do the right thing for Lisa and come forward. This is the primary case that explains how Crime Stoppers Tips must be handled. If a tip is disclosed inadvertently or police act on that tip in a way that creates evidence then charges can be stayed by Crown. AKA the file never goes to court. https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1997/1997canlii367/1997canlii367.html Nanaimo RCMP 250-754-2345
Feb 3, 2022	Ha-Shilth-Sa	Tips should be called into Nanaimo RCMP at 250-754-2345
June 26, 2022	NanaimoNewsNow	Cst. Gary O'Brien said their serious crimes investigators continue reviewing new tips that continue to come in. ... The money won't be awarded unless the tipster is positively identified to police.
Jun 26, 2022	CHEK News	Nanaimo’s RCMP’s lead investigators in Lisa Young’s file who say they get new tips a few times each month. “There are still people coming forward. None of that has broken the case wide open but it’s like putting together a big puzzle so every time someone comes in and talks to us and gives us a little bit more with that puzzle it helps us along,” said Cpl. Markus Muntener
June 27, 2022	Ha-Shilth-Sa	“We’re still receiving tips. I’ll forward the information to the investigator.”
June 28, 2022	Island Crime	We are still following up on witnesses and tips and when we have the resources, potential searches.
Apr 20, 2023	CHEK News	Police have continued to receive tips over the years and when asked Nanaimo RCMP confirmed the investigation remains active.
June 21, 2023	RCMP	Over the years, investigators have received hundreds of tips, have interviewed as many people, conducted numerous searches, and have diligently followed up on old and new information, said Reserve Constable Gary O’Brien of the Nanaimo RCMP.
June 24, 2023	NanaimoNewsNow	At the 2021 Lisa Young justice march, Nanaimo RCMP stated multiple people offered tips who were previously hesitant to do so.
June 25, 2023	Global News	Investigators have conducted numerous searches and received hundreds of tips but they said it’s never too late to come forward.
Feb 6, 1997	Supreme Court of Canada R. v. Leipert	R. v. Leipert sets precedent in protection of the rights of Informer Privilege, specifically preventing police from access to material which could identify individuals who provide submit tips anonymously via Crime Stoppers. … The rule of informer privilege is of such fundamental importance to the workings of a criminal justice system that it cannot be balanced against other interests relating to the administration of justice. Once the privilege has been established, neither the police nor the court possesses discretion to abridge it. ... Informer privilege is an ancient and hallowed protection which plays a vital role in law enforcement. It is premised on the duty of all citizens to aid in enforcing the law. The discharge of this duty carries with it the risk of retribution from those involved in crime. The rule of informer privilege was developed to protect citizens who assist in law enforcement and to encourage others to do the same. ... It was recognized that citizens have a duty to divulge to the police any information that they may have pertaining to the commission of a crime. It was also obvious to the courts from very early times that the identity of an informer would have to be concealed, both for his or her own protection and to encourage others to divulge to the authorities any information pertaining to crimes. It was in order to achieve these goals that the rule was developed. ... The rule is of fundamental importance to the workings of a criminal justice system. ... The rule gives a peace officer the power to promise his informers secrecy expressly or by implication, with a guarantee sanctioned by the law that this promise will be kept even in court, and to receive in exchange for this promise information without which it would be extremely difficult for him to carry out his duties and ensure that the criminal law is obeyed. ... As long as crimes have been committed, certainly as long as they have been prosecuted, informers have played an important role in their investigation. ... by guaranteeing anonymity, Crimestoppers provides law enforcement with information it might never otherwise obtain.

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  Nanaimo Daily News 2002-07-06

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  Nanaimo Daily News 2002-07-09

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  Nanaimo Daily News 2002-07-10

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  Nanaimo Daily News 2002-07-12

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  Nanaimo Daily News 2002-07-25

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  Nanaimo News Bulletin 2012-06-21

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  Ha-Shilth-Sa 2019-06-24

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There is more to this story, much of it available online with the lisamarieyoung.ca search page, or within Lisa's Wikipedia page, the 100's of media articles and dozens of privately-produced podcasts discussing Lisa's "disappearance".

See also

• Category: Tips
• Lisa had been missing 80 days before the RCMP's first ground search
• Search was delayed 18 days due to RCMP prioritization of simple 2 day case
• RCMP's first search was focused more on officer training than on Lisa
• In the re-enactment, RCMP claims their search effort was "exhaustive"
• Search all article text
• List of all files
• Notoriety
• By the Numbers
• List of Podcasts