Call back in 48 hours

From lisamarieyoung.ca
“Call back in 48 hours...”
—Nanaimo RCMP to Lisa's mother
July 1, 2002 11:30am

Summary

When Lisa's mother first called Nanaimo RCMP to report Lisa's disappearance, RCMP staff refused to accept the report, and advised her to call back in 2 days.

This was despite the fact that no police force in Canada has ever had a "waiting period" before a missing persons report can be filed, and, in fact, research clearly shows that the first 72 hours are the most crucial to a missing persons investigation.

Detail

Parent's efforts before calling RCMP

Lisa's parents had reason to be concerned; it was not without due diligence that the decision was made to contact the RCMP.

 
Nanaimo Daily News, July 25, 2002 (Nelson Bennett)[1]
 
Times Colonist, April 4, 2004 (Jim Gibson)[2]

Lisa had failed to show up for early-morning plans with her father,[3] who was going to help her move into her new apartment using his Purolator Courier truck.[1][2] The move was something Lisa had been looking forward to,[4] and she had pre-paid a deposit on her new unit. As Lisa was normally extremely reliable, her parents were immediately very concerned.[5][6][7]


 
Nanaimo Daily News, July 4, 2002 (Paul Walton)[3]
 
Nanaimo Daily News, July 9, 2002 (Paul Walton)[8]

Calls by Lisa's mother to her cellphone were forwarded directly to voicemail.[3] This added concern as Lisa had purchased the cellphone proactively/primarily so that her parents could always contact her (as she'd always been very close to her parents).[8] Lisa always carefully ensured the phone was charged, and she had never powered it off.[9]


 
Native Women's Association of Canada, May 1, 2015 (Allison Crowe)[10]
 
Nanaimo Daily News, July 12, 2002 (Paul Walton)[11]

Lisa's parents retrieved her address book and called "all" of her many friends.[10] Multiple friends said they saw her the previous night, in conversation outside the bar with the unknown male driver of a maroon Jaguar.[11] Others reported seeing her at a houseparty on Nanaimo Lakes Road[12], or leaving a second party around the Cathers Lake area, in the maroon Jaguar.[13] But nobody knew where Lisa was now.[14]


See also → "Reasons to suspect foul play"


Contacted Police

 
Nanaimo Daily News, July 10, 2002 (Paul Walton)[5]
 
Native Women's Association of Canada, May 1, 2015 (Allison Crowe)[10]

By this point, Lisa's parents were frantic.[10]

On Monday, July 1st, 2002 (Canada Day) at about 11:30am[5], Joanne Young (Lisa's mother) called the Nanaimo RCMP detachment to report that her daughter was missing.[10]


Report refused by RCMP

 
Ha-Shilth-Sa, June 24, 2019 (Eric Plummer)[9]

RCMP staff told Lisa's mother that a report couldn't be filed until 48 hours after Lisa was last seen.

She was advised to call back to file the report after 2 days had passed.[3][9][14][10]

 
MP Paul Manly, House of Commons, Dec 8, 2020[14]

Policy & Research

 
ABC News, October 8, 2018 (Julia Jacobo)[15]

While once a common myth, no police force in Canada has ever had a policy requiring a "waiting period" before submission of a missing persons report.[16]

Research shows that the first 72 hours are actually the most critical time frame of a "missing persons" investigation.[15][17]


 
Canadian Centre for Information on Missing Adults, "Quick Facts about Reporting a Missing Adult in Canada"[16]


See also

Sources

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Nelson Bennett, Nanaimo Daily News (July 25, 2002), Lisa's kin follow psychic tip ndn20020725
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Jim Gibson, Times Colonist (Apr 4, 2004), The case Nanaimo can't forget tc20040404
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Paul Walton, Nanaimo Daily News (July 4, 2002), Parents fear daughter the victim of foul play (src)
  4. ↑ Jason Proctor, Vancouver Province (Sep 2, 2002), Where is Lisa-Marie? p20020902
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Paul Walton, Nanaimo Daily News (July 10, 2002), Police fear local met with foul play ndn20020710
  6. ↑ Jolene Rudisuela, Capital Daily (May 5, 2021), More people go missing in BC than anywhere else in Canada. No one knows why cd20210505
  7. ↑ Fort McMurray Today (July 10, 2002), Foul play suspected in missing B.C. woman fmt20020710
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Paul Walton, Nanaimo Daily News (July 9, 2002), RCMP keep searching for woman ndn20020709
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Eric Plummer, Ha-Shilth-Sa (June 24, 2019), Legacy of Lisa Marie Young to hang in Tofino hss20190624
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 Allison Crowe Native Women's Association of Canada (May 1, 2015), Story Telling - Lisa Marie Young nw20150501
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Paul Walton, Nanaimo Daily News (July 12, 2002), Woman's disappearance leaves friends perplexed ...rumours unfounded ndn20020712
  12. ↑ Paul Walton, Nanaimo Daily News (May 29, 2003), When sadness turns to anger ndn20030529
  13. ↑ Vancouver Sun (Feb 26, 2011), Nanaimo RCMP appeal for help vs20110226
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 MP Paul Manly, Parliament, Ottawa (Oct 8, 2020), House of Commons Debate #12 - October 8, 2020 (43-2) at 1525 hoc20201008
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Julia Jacobo, ABC News (Oct 8, 2018), Why the first 72 hours in a missing persons investigation are the most critical abc20181008
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Canadian Centre for Information on Missing Adults (Dec 1, 2012), Quick facts about reporting a missing adult in Canada mp20121201
  17. ↑ NIWRC, "Quick Reference Guide for What to Do in the First 72 Hours" (Brochure)
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