Early life

Lisa Marie Young, age 12
Nanaimo Daily News: Fri Sep 3, 1993 (Kathy Santini) Students and staff get new school for new year

Lisa Marie Young was the eldest child and only daughter of Don Young and Marlene "Joanne" Young, née 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 (Martin's father, Moses Martin) is Tribal Chief of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. Joanne and both of her parents (Moses and Cecilia) 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.