Jack Family Disappearance

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The Jack family went missing on August 2nd 1989, after the father, Ronnie, took a job offer from a man he met at a bar who told him he must come with him that evening. Ronnie was told that logging job required all employees to be there the following day. After driving home, the family packed up with (blank) sister witnessing the events and met the stranger as she was (blank). The Jack family recently fell on hard times and was facing financial struggles, hence the haste to trust and accept the opportunity.

The Jack Family comprised of Ronald "Ronnie" Paul Jack (father) age 26, Doreen Ann Jack (mother), age 26, and children Russell, age 9, and Ryan Jack, age 4. Living in Prince George, they disappeared after leaving their home approximately around 1:21am on August 2nd. Circumstances surrounding vanishing are not entirely clear due their abrupt departure and only eyewitness testimony reported sparsely by the RCMP and new outlets. Because of this as well as police mishandling of the case, only minor leads have surfaced in over 30 years since the night of the events.

Disappearance

Distance between the First Litre Pub (right) and the Jack family residence (left)

According to eyewitness testimony from Doreen's sister's and Ronnie's cousin's account, the events began when Ronnie was in a bar, First Litre Pub, and met a man who offered him a logging job. The man was unknown to staff and regular patrons of the bar and could not be pinpointed to arriving at a specific time. The pair was seen leaving together around 11pm on August 1st, heading back to the Jack residence. The home (2116 Strathcona Avenue, Prince George, B.C.) was only 300m (0.2 miles) away the First Litre Pub (1744 Strathcona Avenue and Tamarck Street, Prince George, B.C.), which is a 5 minuet walk or 2 minuet drive.

Upon the arrival of Jack and the unknown man, Doreen received the guest positively according to sister. Additionally she was also offered a position at the logging camp, as a cook for the employees since it was a remote area, which was described by Doreen's cousin who dropped by the house. The employment was about an hour west of the home being described as a well paying job. Since the family did not own a car, the man offered the couple along with their children a ride to the site, which future hastened the process of moving there.

The eldest son, Russel, was due to return back to school following the summer break in September of that year. Ryan was also registered to begin school that year as well, according to school records. Ronnie proceeded to call his brother at 11:16pm , confirmed by cell phone reports, during which Ronnie described the new job that was offered to himself and Doreen. He also informed his brother that the job would be between 10 days and 2 weeks depending on the need for their help. Ronnie specifically named the camp to be next to Bednesti Lake, near the Cluculz Lake area, which was 40km west of the residence. Initially he asked his brother to look after his children during this period, but his brother declined to take on this responsibility. Afterwards the man told the couple the children could come to the camp as well and be looked after. Despite the sudden change and willingness to coax the couple to join, the parents agreed.

Sometime after this, Doreen's cousin stopped by the home and witnessed her and her husband packing supplies the family would need for the duration of their time away. The cousin (name) saw the man offering this opportunity and was able to recount the events to the police. The cousin was there for about an hour and described the man, which is the only detailed report on what the man was wearing and looked like.

At 1:21am on Wednesday August 2nd, a called was placed to Ronnie's mother, Mabel, who lived in Burn's Lake, about 2 1/2 hours away from the Jack home. He reiterated the events of the night and ensuing job offer to his mother and how the camp would have daycare for the children. However, Ronnie stated the family must return in time to see Russel off to school in the coming weeks in September. Mabel later recalled feeling uneasy about the alleged opportunity. but refrained from speaking up knowing the family was financially strapped for cash at the time. Ron finished the conversation by stating "If I don't come back, come looking for me." Doreen's cousin departed around 1:30am during which the entire Jack family was finishing loading the unknown man's truck and preparing to leave. Doreen's sister also dropped by at the same time but decided not to interfere with the family's set off. According to her, she was not alarmed nor did the family distressed but told others she felt uneasy and she had to stay away. Shortly after, the family took off into the night through the wilderness on the Yellowhead Highway, also known as Highway 16 or B.C. route 5. This was the last known confirmed sighting of the family.

After the Disappearance

In the following weeks, Mabel's sense of uneasiness grew when Ron did not call her like he normally did. Initially she reduced it to the possibility the remoteness of the camp and probable lack of phone service. Since she was not giving a direct expected date of return, the family was not technically missing. Additionally Mabel was never given an address as to where the logging camp was located. After 3 weeks, the report of the missing family was officially filed with the Prince George RCMP on August 26th. The police did place calls to the surrounding areas about possible locations the family may have been at, but came up empty handed. The details of the case was subsequently reported to the media, but little was ever published around the time of the vanishing. One of the first reports was printed on Wednesday the 30th of August in a local newspaper, the Prince George Citizen, four days after the police report was filed. It was only 6 short paragraphs comprised of 9 sentences, located on the bottom of the page, which was incorrectly reported the Jack family as being residents of Burns Lake and the job offer being only 8 days long.

The family's home was still full of furniture and other important belongings, which indicated they were expecting a short trip away. The only things missing were clothes and other essentials which the family would need during their time away. Shortly after the misinformation printed in the Prince George Citizen article, the Ronnie's family moved into the home where the Jack family lived and was beginning to raise money for their own independent search.^[1]

For several months after their disappearance, Ronald's 5 brothers and parents continued searching for any sign of the family through the wilderness and surrounding cities. Doreen's sister Maria took up her own search of the Vancouver area. Despite these efforts, no trace was found of the Jacks.

Crime Stoppers Canada and local station CKPGTV partnered up to produce a film recreation of events that transpired. This aired in the fall of 1990 for three weeks and in the spring of 1991. However, the producers failed to realize the station does not air in the Cheslatta reserve, where the family was suspected to have gone missing.

Suspect

The man allegedly involved was described as a 6'- 6'6" man with reddish-brown hair and full/long beard. Additionally he was said to be heavyset (between 200-275 lbs), Caucasian, in his late 30s. He was described as wearing a blue nylon logging jacket with a visible orange "H" logo, reportedly popular with those who work in the logging profession. The man was also wearing a baseball cap and red shirt (possibly a checkered work shirt) and the jacket was waist length.

The suspect was driving a 4x4 pickup truck, only being characterized as dark in color.

Ronnie Jack

Born on 29 March 1963 to parents, Ronnie was 5'6", and was 150 lbs at the time of his disappearance. His family also includes 5 brothers and (blank) sisters. He is described as an indigenous man with black hair and dark brown eyes. Before the events of August 2nd, Ronnie recently lost his job at a saw mill caused by a back injury, which cause a fiscal crisis within the family. Ronnie was described as the sole provider for the family and the income assistance the family was receiving was not enough to ease the financial burden. He also had a large extended family who helped them from time to time. His back injury was not only a financial strain but inhibited Ronnie's desire to stay working, which he was often identified as being a hard worker.

Doreen Jack

Born on 24 April 1963, Doreen was the (#) child of the (maiden) family born to her father Charlie and mother (blank). Her sisters are Maria (b. 19--) and Loreen (b. 19-- and d. (day) 2022). At the time of her disappearance she was approximately 111lbs and 5'2" in height. She had brown eyes and black hair and was Native American like her husband.

Doreen was described as a nurturing and loving mother devoted to her children and husband. She was also characterized as being funny and outgoing by those who knew her.

According to Doreen's sister Maria, all three sisters spent a period of time in group home; the photo to the right reflects Loreen's birthday being celebrated there.

The Jack Children

Russel was born on the 28th of February of 1980 and was around 4' tall and about 90lbs at the time of his disappearance. He had black hair and brown eyes like his parents

Ryan was born on the 26th of July, 1985 and was around 3' tall and about 55lbs at the time of his disappearance. He also had black hair and brown eyes.

Highway 16 Connection

See also: Highway of Tears

The bar the Ronnie was last seen at was located (measure) away from on onramp to Highway 16, a widely known hotspot for missing and murdered people who have been linked to the area. Police have reported they may be and most likely several serial killers and human trafficking rings throughout the entire stretch. Many billboards and public outcries have prompted more awareness of the systemic issue resulting from this route due to its' remoteness and populace being a large majority of indigenous people.

Phone Call

During the night of January 28th 1996, at 8:33pm, the Vanderhoof RCMP received a 10 second phone call directing police to alleged farm where the bodies of the family are buried. The RCMP pleaded through the press to anonymously call again to get more information, it fell short and was subsequently released to the media on March 11th 1996. Constable Paul Strader of Prince George RCMP affirmed this leader was reliable and "... wouldn't being going through all this trouble if it was not credible." The call was able to be traced back to the area which was also the area of interest due to it being from the same area the family disappeared from. This was also an area of particularly high ratio of where loggers often worked near.

The brief call was unable to be traced to the caller themself, which the RCMP speculate is because the person who placed the call did not want to be identified and arranged it during a local party at the property it originated from, which any number of people could have been one to do it. The caller was described as a male and when prompted to repeat the information, they swiftly hung up. Unable to clarify if the called said "Corrie's", "Gordy's", or "Cordy's" ranch which has inhibited investigators to narrow the location possibilities down. Additionally this was the first lead the officers received in years and was some of the very few the had for the entire case.

The RCMP was unable to track all of the partygoers down according to the last known publication regarding this. A UBC professor in Vancouver was tasked to attempt to analyze the call to gain clarity on the location being said during recording.

Discrepancies

_ron;s mom location mix ups

Sightings

-(ronnies father misunderstanding sighting)

Racism, Police Mishandling, Incorrect Reporting, and News Media Bias

The longstanding history of misconduct and dismissal of cases pertaining to indigenous people of Canada is well documented. Very little reports pertaining to this case were made public as well as many news outlets not publishing information months and years following the disappearances.

As mentioned in the "After the Disappearance" section above, many news outlets incorrectly reported details surrounding Jack's following the initial police investigation. The Jacks were described as being from Burns Lake instead of Prince George, which is where Ronald's parents lived. Often times, the media led readers to believe the family's disappearance was intentional, despite the questionable circumstances surrounding the absence, most likely an opinion shared by RCMP investigators. A quote to the Prince George Citizens news paper made from the spokesman of the RCMP stated, "It is possible he found further employment and hasn't bothered to phone home," despite it being well documented that Ronnie was in contact often with his family.

A week later on Thursday September 7th 1989, the Prince George Citizen reported the RCMP spokesman stated the family was found "safe and sound" ^[2]. Later on this mistake was attributed to an investigator misunderstanding Ronald's father about a supposed sighting. In addition to this, the RCMP closed the case based on this and only reopened the investigation after the other Jack family members called to see where their pursuit of the case was. Following this, the RCMP reopened the case 2 months after they went missing. ^[3]

In March 1992, Lake District News reported the quote from RCMP which stated "... it has encountered a problem of the Native people not coming forward with any information they may have that will help with the case, which makes the investigation more difficult,' according to Prince George RCMP Sergeant Roberts." Additionally they again misreported the family was from Burns Lake.

The Families of Doreen and Ronald also later testified duress they faces resulting from RCMP officers threatening to cut off communications about the case with the family if they went to the media about any information surrounding the vanishing. Maria testified "I got afraid. When I was afraid to talk because I need to stay in touch with Doreen's case. For the longest time I was like that."

The Prince George RCMP also has a long history of abusing and violating human rights against the Canadian indigenous population. The allegations and convicts range from gross use of force, use of dogs on girls as young as 12 years old, sexual assaults, and pedophilia rings. These convictions also include members of the judicial system like judges.

Brief Timeline Synopsis

- August 1st 1989 11pm: Ronald leaves the bar to return home with the unknown man

- August 2nd 1989 1:30am: the family leaves with the man and is witnessed by Doreen's Cousin

- October 1989: Police reopen the case after mistakenly closing it for 2 months. Police probe potential witnesses, perform basic ground and aerial searches, and investigate local logging camps and its workers. They also investigate surrounding areas outside of Prince George.

- Winter 1989: the Jack family slows their private searches and police suspend physical searches of the areas due to weather

-Fall 1990: Crime Stoppers Canada partnered with a local station in Prince George which aired a recreation of the events on CKPGTV.

References

This article "Jack Family Disappearance" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Jack Family Disappearance. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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