The Disappearance of Lisa Marie Young.

In the early hours of June 30th 2002, Lisa Marie Young disappeared in Nanaimo, British Columbia. Lisa had been to a night club and two house parties, she accepted a ride to a vegetarian restaurant from a man she had just met. Lisa got in the man’s car and was never seen again.

Lisa, an Indigenous Canadian girl, was 21 years old at the time of her disappearance. Her maternal grandfather is the tribal chief of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation on the West Coast of Vancouver Island B.C. She is the eldest child and only daughter of father Don and mother Marlene. Lisa has two younger brothers named, Brian and Robin. She was raised in Nanaimo, B.C and went to Brecon Elementary and Woodlands Secondary Schools.

Lisa loved rollerblading around the seafront, was a fitness fanatic, and followed a vegetarian diet. Lisa’s mother described her as an independent, hard-working young woman, and that she possessed "inner strength that was totally awesome. Lisa’s friend Dallas Hulley, described her as "outgoing, confident, bubbly," and said that you couldn’t help but notice Lisa at any party or event.

Things were going great for Lisa, she had found a new apartment in Northern Nanaimo. Her dad was helping her move to the new apartment, but at the time of her disappearance, she still lived in the apartment next door to her parents with a roommate. She also just found a new job in a call center, a job she was eager to start. Lisa also thought about going to college, with the dream of becoming a sports broadcaster on television.

On June 29, 2002, around 11 p.m., Lisa left her parents' apartment to celebrate her friend Dallas’ birthday. Her parents have said they found it strange Lisa went out, because she had a busy week ahead of her. Lisa and her friends went to the Jungle Cabaret nightclub (now called Evolve Nightclub) in downtown Nanaimo. The club closed at 2:30 a.m. on June 30th,2002.

At this point, Christopher William Adair approached Lisa and her friends and offered to take them to a house party. Lisa and her friends accepted the offer and Christopher gave them a ride in his red/maroon older model Jaguar. Christopher took them to the house party and later that evening took them to a second house party.

While at the second house party Lisa mentioned she was hungry. Being a vegetarian, Lisa was unable to eat any of the food at the party. Christopher said he knew a vegetarian restaurant nearby, and offered to take her there. Lisa accepted his offer, and was seen getting in Christopher’s car around 4:00 a.m. This is the last time Lisa was seen in person by her friends.

Around 4:30 a.m., Lisa called her friend Dallas and said that Christopher took her to another house party, and that she was sitting in his car, stating she felt uncomfortable, and didn’t know anyone at the party. Lisa later sent Dallas a text “Come get me, they won’t let me leave.” It’s unknown if Dallas received this text, it’s clear though that nobody came to Lisa’s rescue. Lisa’s cell phone last pinged in the Departure Bay area of Nanaimo.

In an interview Dallas said in "Sure enough it's Lisa on her cellphone. She goes 'Dallas, I don't know what's going on. This guy won't bring me back. We're sitting in a driveway on Bowen Road and he won't bring me back.' She said, 'I'm bored. I'm getting pissed off.

At first Lisa’s parents thought she was just busy, but when her roommate asked them if they had seen Lisa, they became worried. After contacting everyone in Lisa’s phonebook, her parents contacted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Nanaimo at 11:30 a.m. on July 1st, to report Lisa as a missing person. The RCMP told her parents to call back in 48 hours. Fortunately, an RCMP officer came to Lisa’s parents apartment on the evening of July 1st. The officer asked them for a picture of Lisa and some questions. A couple days later, the case was handed over to the Serious Crime Unit, meaning the RMCP expected foul play, after Lisa left the party in the Cathers Lake area. Police have searched remote areas in and around Nanaimo several times, the searches revealed nothing.

On July 3rd, Lisa's family contacted the local media, and her disappearance appeared on the front page of the Nanaimo Daily News the following morning. The story was covered by the media on July 5th in Victoria, the provincial capital, and by the following week, newspapers all around the province had picked it up.

Members of Lisa's extended family got many phone calls within two weeks of her disappearance saying that Lisa’s body had been discovered in neighboring Lantzville, B.C. Similar rumors about Lisa's body being found in Ladysmith, B.C. circulated on numerous online chat sites.

Within 4 days of her disappearance, Lisa's mother and the RCMP both received information that she got into a dark red/maroon Jaguar, but it wasn't until weeks later, on July 20th, that authorities were able to identify the driver as Christopher William Adair. Lisa's mother had a brief meeting with Christopher. She later said that when she asked Christopher where Lisa was, he said, "I can't... I’m sorry, I don't mean to disrespect your family. Ultimately, Christopher was released; no charges were brought. Police later said, "The driver, like many others involved in this file, is simply a person of interest." It was never confirmed by the RCMP if the meeting between Lisa’s mom and Christopher happened.

Christopher has a rap sheet that includes assault, fraud, and theft. He was also charged with assault of a police officer after Lisa’s disappearance. Christopher wasn't the owner of the Jaguar, the car belonged to his grandmother Geraldine Adair. She sold the car before police were able to do any type of forensic investigation. Furthermore, she threatened to sue the RCMP if they implicated Christopher in the disappearance of Lisa. The RCMP was able to track down the new owners of the car and did a thorough forensic investigation. The car had been steam-cleaned before it was sold.

Between July and December 2002 and spring/summer 2003, dissatisfied with police efforts in the case, Lisa’s grandfather and Tla-o-qui-aht Chief Moses Martin coordinated the Tribal Search & Rescue into many search efforts to find Lisa, searching from Coombs to Tofino. Lisa’s family and members of Tla-o-qui-aht also put up a CA$11,500 (about US$ 8,500) reward for information about Lisa’s disappearance.

On June 21st 2017, Lisa’s mother Marlene sadly passed away of liver failure. Family members believe that she got sick because of the stress of Lisa’s disappearance.

On March 25th 2018, Lisa’s friend Dallas was struck by a car while walking on a highway. He was trying to pick something up from the road, but the driver didn’t see him.

In December 2019, there was a billboard with the following message "Lisa Marie Young, Missing, Brown Eyes, 5'4", Tattoo Flower Band on Right Arm, Call Nanaimo RCMP" along the Island Highway near Nanoose Bay. The billboard stayed there for several months.

On October 8th, 2020, in Ottawa, during a House of Commons debate, M.P. Paul Manly raised several issues regarding the handling of Lisa's disappearance and made claims that Lisa's Indigenous heritage had an impact on police efforts and the investigation. Additionally, he expressed a number of grave worries he had regarding the police investigation into Lisa's disappearance.

In December 2020, the Nanaimo RCMP searched two Nanaimo locations and a portion of Morrell Nature Sanctuary as part of the investigation. One of the locations was a house at 827 Nanaimo Lakes Road, close to Morrell Sanctuary and less than 200 meters from the upper reservoir of Colliery Dam.

An update on Lisa Marie Young's missing person case was given at a press conference held by the Nanaimo RCMP in June 2021. A police dog and ground-penetrating radar have been used in "numerous searches" for Lisa over the past year, according to RCMP Cpl. Markus Muntener, the case's current co-lead investigator. He also reported that more searches at undisclosed locations were planned.

In February 2022, an unnamed American donor announced a reward of $50,000 (CA$62,500) for information leading to the discovery of Lisa's remains.

Since March 2023, at least 7 signs to raise awareness about Lisa's disappearance have been stolen.

The RCMP have stated numerous times that they think Lisa's disappearance and Christopher the Jaguar's driver are connected. Sgt. Chisholm said "Suffice to say we have strong feelings about an individual, but there isn't enough evidence to bring charges against him." Christopher no longer lives in Canada, it’s believed he’s living in Japan.

As of this writing Lisa's remains haven't been found yet.