A group of advocates in the United States and Canada has released new photos to drum up leads in the historic missing Jack family case out of British Columbia.
It’s been 31 years since Ronnie and Doreen Jack, originally from Burns Lake, B.C., along with their children, Ryan and Russell, vanished without a trace from the Prince George area in 1989.
Now, new age-progression photos show what the family members may look in present day.
“I was really impressed with the work, but it was also really heartbreaking to see [Ryan and Russell] being so handsome and not being able to live their life,” family member Marlene Jack told APTN News by phone.
“Most definitely have hopes they were spared and out in this world somewhere.”
The family was supposed to relocate for work for 10 days at a logging camp just outside Prince George, a city about a 10-hour drive north of Vancouver, in the summer of 1989.
Ronnie Jack, then 26, called his mother in the early hours of Aug. 2, 1989 to relay the news. Doreen was also 26, and their sons were 9 and 4.
That was the last anyone heard from the family, who was living in Prince George at the time. The case remains unsolved to this day.
The photos were released last month on the Facebook page Unidentified Human Remains Canada and have been shared thousands of times since then.
Jan Guppy created the page more than a year ago after seeing there wasn’t much information or resources online for families searching for loved ones.
Guppy remembers learning about the family’s case while in her teens but it wasn’t until the 31st anniversary that she spoke directly with Marlene Jack.
“I was almost ready to give up until Jan got a hold of me and it just re-ignited the fires,” Jack said.
Guppy, who lives in Montreal, has built a network with forensics artists through her advocacy work and offered to bring in Samantha Steinberg of the Miami-Dade Police Department in the U.S. to help create the photos.
“It’s been a passion of mine to try and help in this area…if I can make the connections and get people on board then that’s what I’m going to do,” Guppy told APTN Wednesday.
Guppy says she’s already received several tips on the case since the photos were released leading to “renewed hope” for the family.
The group has also created flyers featuring the progression photos for the family to distribute.
Jack says the photos have given the search new energy.
“I really hope whoever knows something or know where they are can come forward,” said Jack.
“I don’t care about the justice part of it. Justice is not in the picture anymore. It’s about bringing my family home.”
Prince George RCMP told the family they would work on creating their own age-progression photos but Jack said she was told they weren’t satisfied with their versions.
APTN reached out to Prince George RCMP for a comment but did not receive one by publication time.
