The Disappearance of The Jack Family

The Investigation Continues…

File # 1989-26607
Case reference: 2014002868

Statement from the Prince George RCMP’s Serious Crime Unit

August 2, 2024 marked the 35-year anniversary of the disappearance of four members of the Jack family. Doreen, Ronald, Ryan and Russell were reported missing after failing to return from an alleged job opportunity Ronald had west of Prince George. The circumstances of their disappearance are largely unknown, despite the hours of investigation that have been ongoing since 1989.

This is the type of investigation that relies heavily on what we can learn from the public. It is unlike investigations today where we can track people using their digital footprint. There is no surveillance to review, no banking records to follow or cell phone records to examine. There is little that would give us a clue as to where the Jack family went after they were last seen, states Sgt. Aaron Whitehouse, commander of the Serious Crime Unit.

That is not to say there are no investigational steps to be taken, however. Prince George RCMP’s Serious Crime Unit has a dedicated investigator attached to the search, who continues to follow up on all verifiable tips received from the public. This work involves examining original file material against new tips. Many of the tips received today were already thoroughly investigated before.

As with all missing persons investigations, this investigation will remain open until such time as the Jack family is located. Prince George RCMP continues to work in collaboration with our law enforcement partners, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal agencies, and the public on this case and continues to encourage community support in bringing forward new information for investigation.

Doreen Ann Jack
Missing since: August 1, 1989
Date of birth: April 24, 1963
Age at disappearance: 26 years
Gender: Female
Ethnicity: Indigenous
Eye Color: Brown
Hair: Black, long
Height: 157 cm / 5ft 2in
Weight: 50 kgs / 110 lbs

Ronald Paul Jack
Missing since: August 1, 1989
Date of birth: March 29, 1963
Age at disappearance: 26 years
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Indigenous
Eye Color: Brown
Hair: Black
Height: 168 cm / 5ft 6in
Weight: 68 kgs / 150 lbs

Russell Fabien Jack
Missing since: August 1, 1989
Date of birth: February 28, 1980
Age at disappearance: 9 years
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Indigenous
Eye Color: Brown
Hair: Black
Height: 121 cm / 4ft 0in
Weight: 40 kgs / 88 lbs

Ryan Paul Jack
Missing since: August 1, 1989
Date of birth: July 26, 1985
Age at disappearance: 4 years
Gender: Male
Ethnicity: Indigenous
Eye Color: Brown
Hair: Black
Height: 98 cm / 3ft 3in
Weight: 25 kgs / 55 lbs

Details of The Jack Family’s Disappearance

On the night of Tuesday, August 1, 1989, about a year after the relocation to Prince George, a still-unemployed Ronald visited the First Litre pub, located four blocks away from the Jack family’s rented house at 2116 Strathcona Avenue. There, he was approached by an unidentified man who offered Ronald and his wife jobs at a logging camp located at or near Cluculz Lake, 40 KM(24 miles) west of Prince George along British Columbia Highway 16. The man promised Ronald that the job would last between ten days and two weeks, would be highly paid, and would include benefits such as daycare for the Jack children.

The man Ronald spoke to has been described as a Caucasian man in his late thirties, who was between 183 cm to 198 cm (6′ to 6’6′) tall and weighed between 91 and 125 kg (200 to 275 lbs). The male had reddish-brown hair and a full beard, and was wearing a ball cap, red checkered work shirt, faded blue jeans, blue nylon jacket, and work boots with leather fringes over the toes.

Because the Jack family did not own a vehicle, the unidentified man offered to transport Ronald and Doreen to the logging camp that night in his four-wheel pickup truck. Ronald and the man left the pub at about 11:16pm and returned to the Stratcona Avenue residence. In the early morning hours of August 2, Ronald called his brother in Burns Lake to arrange for his sons to stay with him while he was working, but that wouldn’t be an option. Next Ronald called his mother Mabel, who was also in Burns Lake, ending the conversation by telling her to come and look for him if he didn’t come back. Two relatives of Doreen, which included her sister Lorene, visited the house and was witness to the family packing their belongings into the pickup truck. Ronald, Doreen, and their children have not been seen since.

After Ronald had failed to contact her for several weeks, his mother reported the family missing in late August 1989. Police examined the Strathcona Avenue residence, where most of their furniture and clothes, as well as Russell and Ryan’s school records, had remained since they left. Various members of the Jack family, including Ronald’s mother, have stated that there was no adequate support from any external organizations during the original search due to their Indigenous background. On September 7, 1989, the Prince George detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) incorrectly reported that the family had been found, leading to the investigation briefly being closed. The following year, a televised reenactment of the disappearance produced by Crime Stoppers was broadcast on Prince George station CKPG-TV, despite the station not reaching the region where the family was believed to have disappeared.

On the morning of Sunday, January 28, 1996, an anonymous caller contacted the RCMP detachment in Vanderhoof, British Columbia, 61 miles west of Prince George. The caller, who was traced to a house in nearby Stoney Creek, stated that “the Jack family are buried at the south end” of an unspecified ranch before hanging up. Police issued a province-wide appeal for the caller to make contact again, and released an audiotape of the call when he did not do so. Subsequent investigation of the call determined that a party was being held at the house when the call was made, and that Vanderhoof police were unable to locate all of the six to nine partygoers in attendance.

To date, Doreen, Ronald, Russell and Ryan have not been located or heard from and remain missing. The RCMP maintains an open case file of their disappearance.

If you have information on The Jack Family’s case, please contact any of the following:
Prince George RCMP: 250-561-3300
Reference Case#: 1989-28607
Crime Stoppers: 1-800-222-TIPS(8477)
Online at: https://www.canadiancrimestoppers.org/submit-a-tip/submit-a-tip
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:
RCMP Newsroom
Canada’s Missing
Justice For Native People