Bette-Jean Masters
| Bette-Jean Masters | |
|---|---|
| Born | Edna Bette-Jean Masters 1958 |
| Disappeared | 3 July 1960 (aged 21 months) Red Lake, British Columbia, Canada |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| Height | 2 ft 7 in (79 cm) |
Edna Bette-Jean Masters (born 1958), known as Bette-Jean, is a Canadian child who disappeared from the community of Red Lake, British Columbia, on 3 July 1960, at the age of 21 months. She vanished while visiting family friends with her mother and two brothers. An extensive search involving police, local volunteers, a police dog and an aircraft found no trace of her.[1][2]
Police have sought to identify a young couple seen in the area in a rust-coloured 1959 Chevrolet with Alberta licence plates and distinctive "cat-eye" or "bat-wing" tail lights.[1] No evidence has established that the couple was involved in Masters's disappearance. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) renewed its public appeal in 2013 and released an age-progression image of Masters in 2015. Her fate remains unknown.[3]
Background
Masters was born in 1958. She was the second-oldest of six siblings, although two of her younger sisters, Theresa Stafford and Phyllis Makarewicz, were born after her disappearance.[2] At the time, the family lived in Red Lake, a small logging community northwest of Kamloops.[1][4]
At the time of her disappearance, Masters was approximately 2 ft 7 in (79 cm) tall and weighed 24 lb (11 kg). She had fine, curly blond hair, blue eyes and a fair complexion. A small oval burn scar was present on her upper left arm, between her elbow and shoulder. She was wearing a green bonnet with a white frill, an undershirt, a pink short-sleeved shirt, faded pink overalls, white socks and sandals.[1]
Disappearance
On 3 July 1960, Masters's mother took Bette-Jean and her two older sons to visit family friends who lived a little more than 1 km (0.62 mi) from the Masters home. The children played in the yard. When the two boys later came inside, their mother asked where Bette-Jean was; they replied that she should have been immediately behind them. A search of the property failed to locate her. According to her sisters' later account, Bette-Jean had been carrying a doll and a bottle, neither of which was found.[2]
Police were contacted and a large search began that night. Local residents and workers from two mills joined the effort; according to the family, the mills suspended operations so that employees could participate. Police officers, volunteers, a police dog and an aircraft searched the yard, nearby forest, ponds and roads, but found no trace of Masters. The RCMP received numerous tips, none of which established what had happened to her.[1][2][5]
Initial possibilities considered in the community included that Masters had wandered into the surrounding wilderness or been attacked by a wild animal. Her family later said that searchers found no evidence supporting either possibility and came to believe that she had been abducted.[2] Police have not publicly established a cause for her disappearance.[5]
Vehicle of interest
Residents reported seeing an unfamiliar, well-dressed man and woman, both believed to be in their twenties, travelling in the Red Lake area in the days before and on the day of the disappearance. Their car was described as a rust-coloured 1959 Chevrolet with Alberta licence plates and distinctive tail lights described as "cat-eye" or "bat-wing" in style. The RCMP subsequently sought to identify the couple and speak with them.[1][2]
Maurice Masters was driving home from Savona on the day his daughter disappeared. He later reported that a car with similar tail lights nearly forced him off the road as it came down a hill away from Red Lake. Police have not identified either the vehicle or the couple, and no evidence made public has connected them to the disappearance.[2]
Later investigation
For decades, the investigation produced no publicly reported credible lead or physical evidence. In August 2013, Kamloops Rural RCMP reviewed the historical file and issued a renewed appeal for information. Investigators cited the potential value of DNA analysis, internet and social-media publicity, and photographic age progression in re-examining old missing-person cases.[1][4]
In May 2015, the RCMP released a forensic age-progression drawing depicting how Masters might have looked as an adult. The artist used childhood photographs of Masters as well as photographs of her parents and siblings to assess facial structure. RCMP spokesperson Corporal Cheryl Bush stated that it was possible Masters could be alive without knowing her original identity and asked the public not to dismiss apparently insignificant memories or information.[3][5]
Members of the Masters family provided DNA samples to police and also submitted samples to commercial genetic-genealogy services. The family supplied photographs used in producing the adult rendering.[2] In a 2025 interview, Stafford and Makarewicz said that their father had died without learning what happened and that they hoped to obtain an answer for their mother. They continued to believe their sister had been abducted, while acknowledging that the available evidence had not resolved the case.[2]
Masters had not been located and that the case remained unresolved.[2]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Judd, Amy (12 September 2013). "Historical missing person case: 21-month-old disappeared near Kamloops in 1960". Global News. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 Kneeshaw, Dylana (11 July 2025). "Into Thin Air – Bette-Jean Masters: Red Lake toddler missing for 65 years". CFJC Today. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Canadian Press (21 May 2015). "Toddler went missing 55 years ago: Kamloops RCMP". Global News. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Jordan, Shelley (13 August 2013). "Family still seeking answers 53 years after their baby went missing". iNFOnews.ca. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Moore, Wayne (20 May 2015). "Cold case revisited". Castanet. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
External links
- Edna Bette-Jean Masters at Canada's Missing, Royal Canadian Mounted Police
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