Janet Gail Henry
Case reference: 2014003388
Missing Since: June 25, 1997
Missing From: Vancouver, BC
Date of Birth: April 10, 1961
Age at Disappearance: 36
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: Indigenous
Eye Color: Brown
Hair: Brown, Short
Height: 160cm / 5 ft 3 in
Weight: 61kg / 134 lbs
Physical Build: Slender/Thin
Notable: Janet wears glasses. She is also knowns in the downtown eastside area of Vancouver where she is alleged to have been a sex worker and to abuse illegal substances.
A Little Bit About Janet & Her Case: Janet was the youngest of 12 children. As a young girl, Janet Gail Henry was drugged & abducted by child serial killer Clifford Olson. For unknown reasons he spared her life. Some of her siblings ended up in foster homes and residential schools. Her father was a fisherman who she witnessed wash overboard and drown. Her sister Lavina was sexually assaulted & murdered in Nanaimo. Her sister Debbie was 21 years old when she took her own life in 1981 after she had been abused in a foster home. Her twin brother Stan was hit by a police car and died in Vancouver in 1991.
There was so much trauma in Janet’s life.
Janet graduated from high school and attended hairdressing school. She got married and had a daughter, to whom she was devoted. However, when her marriage broke up in the late 1980s, her husband gained custody of their daughter. Janet eventually ended up living in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. She regularly communicated with her family, while they were concerned for her safety because of the recent rash of murders. When the phone calls stopped, Janet’s family was fearing the worst. They started to search the streets for Janet but have never been able to find her.
Just a few months before Janet disappeared, one of her neighbors had heard screaming. She called 911 and the police arrived to find Janet had been sexually assaulted. She had been beaten and choked so violently that she nearly died. John Gary Silvie was convicted of Janet’s attack. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Board awarded Janet $3500.00 for her injuries.
Janet had called her sister, Sandra on June 25, 1997 and had made arrangements to meet with her later at a restaurant. When she did not arrived, her sister called 911 and requested a wellness check. She wanted to check and see if her sister had overdosed in her room. The police told her Janet was not there and the landlord said that her rent was paid up for the next month. Sandra also checked on her own. Sandra was also convinced that Silvie had come back to kill her sister. When she checked over Janet’s home, nothing was out of place.
Janet was reported missing two days later by her sister, Sandra Gagnon.
It is worth noting that Janet had allegedly confessed to another sister that she had attended some of the parties that took place at The Pickton Farm. It is suspected that she may have been a victim of Robert Pickton, however, her body & DNA has never been located. Charges were made against Robert Pickton, the owner of a farm, for the murder of 15 women who had gone missing from the Downtown Eastside, the vast majority of which were women who went missing after 1997. For years her family has prayed for information on what may have happened to Janet. Family members continue to hope that their sister is still alive. They do believe that if she was ok that she would contact them.
If you have information on Janet’s case, please contact any of the following:
Vancouver Police Department: 604-717-2530, vpd.missing@vpd.ca
Reference Case#: MIS 97-158127
Crime Stoppers: 1-800-222-TIPS(8477)
Online at: https://www.canadiancrimestoppers.org/tips
Crime Stoppers provides anonymous tipping
Send email to the National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains at: canadasmissing-disparuscanada@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
Sources:
Forsaken: The Report of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry Volume I
Maple Ridge News
Doe Network
Canada’s Missing
North Island Gazette
Someone Saw Something 
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