On the evening of October 17, 1982, 25-year-old Clayton Mark Bussiere was last seen driving his taxi along Lougheed Highway (Highway 7) in Mission, British Columbia. What happened afterward remains a mystery that has endured for nearly 44 years. Clayton disappeared that night, and neither he nor the taxi he was driving has ever been located.
Clayton was born in 1956 and was just one day away from celebrating his 26th birthday when he vanished. He stood approximately 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighed 174 pounds. He was described as having a heavy build, fair complexion, brown eyes, short brown hair, and a moustache. He also had a distinctive one-inch scar on his forehead.
At the time of his disappearance, Clayton was wearing a black printed long-sleeved shirt, navy-blue corduroy pants, a grey zippered cardigan sweater with elbow patches, and brown leather lace-up shoes made by Downunders. He was also wearing a Saint Christopher medal necklace made of silver and other metals, along with a Bulova digital wristwatch.
One of the most important details in Clayton’s disappearance is the vehicle he was driving. His taxi was a robin’s-egg-blue, four-door 1978 Pontiac Grand LeMans with dark-blue velour upholstery. The vehicle reportedly displayed British Columbia licence plate 1931-JB and a Washington State front plate numbered 1030. The number 6 was displayed on the rear roof panels of the taxi.
These distinctive details may be especially important. Even after more than four decades, someone might remember seeing a blue Pontiac taxi matching that description travelling through Mission, Abbotsford, or another Fraser Valley community in October 1982.
According to the RCMP’s missing-person records, Clayton was last seen driving along Lougheed Highway on the evening of October 17. Investigators have not publicly established whether he had a passenger in his taxi at the time of his disappearance.
That uncertainty leaves several important questions unanswered. Where was Clayton travelling that evening? Was he responding to a fare, transporting a passenger, or travelling alone? Did anyone see his taxi stopped along Highway 7 or travelling somewhere outside Mission? Could someone have witnessed an interaction involving Clayton that seemed unremarkable at the time?
The disappearance of both Clayton and his vehicle adds another troubling dimension to the case. A full-sized Pontiac Grand LeMans is not a small object that could easily disappear without leaving a trace, yet the publicly available information provides no confirmed explanation for where the vehicle went.
Was the taxi driven outside the Mission area? Could it have been left somewhere remote? Did someone notice an unfamiliar blue Pontiac parked on rural property, near a wooded area, or along a secluded road during the days following Clayton’s disappearance?
These are possibilities worth considering, not established facts about what happened. There is no publicly confirmed evidence identifying another person’s involvement or explaining the fate of Clayton and his taxi.
For those who lived or worked in Mission, Abbotsford, or the surrounding Fraser Valley in October 1982, your memories could be important. Perhaps you remember the unusual colour of Clayton’s taxi, its distinctive licence plates, or the number 6 displayed on its roof. Maybe you worked at a gas station, restaurant, motel, garage, towing company, or another business where the vehicle might have been seen.
Someone may also remember a conversation about a missing taxi driver, an abandoned Pontiac, or something unusual that occurred around October 17, 1982. Even if that information seemed insignificant at the time, investigators may be able to determine whether it has any relevance today.
October 17, 2026, will mark 44 years since Clayton disappeared. It will also mark another birthday that he has not been home to celebrate.
Clayton was a young man whose life should not be reduced to a missing-person file number. He had a future ahead of him, and the circumstances surrounding his disappearance deserve answers.
Nearly 44 years have passed, but the passage of time does not mean that every possible lead has been exhausted. Witnesses may remember details they never reported. People who were reluctant to speak in 1982 may feel differently today. Information that once appeared unimportant could take on new significance when examined alongside other evidence.
The distinctive appearance of Clayton’s missing taxi may provide an opportunity to reach someone who has never connected a decades-old memory with this investigation.
If you remember seeing a robin’s-egg-blue 1978 Pontiac Grand LeMans taxi, particularly one displaying British Columbia licence plate 1931-JB, Washington State front plate 1030, or the number 6 on its rear roof panels, please consider contacting investigators.
If you have any information concerning the disappearance of Clayton Mark Bussiere or the whereabouts of his missing taxi, please contact the Abbotsford Police Department at 604-859-5225.
Please reference police case number 1982-14093 or National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains case reference 2014001622.
Anonymous tips can also be submitted through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at https://www.canadiancrimestoppers.org/tips.
Information may also be emailed to the National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains at canadasmissing-disparuscanada@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.
Please share Clayton’s story, especially throughout Mission, Abbotsford, Chilliwack, the Fraser Valley, and other British Columbia communities. Those who lived in the area during the early 1980s may hold memories that could help investigators piece together what happened.
Clayton Mark Bussiere and his taxi vanished on October 17, 1982. Nearly 44 years later, neither has been found. Someone may remember something that could finally help bring answers to this decades-old mystery.
Please help keep Clayton’s name, photograph, and the description of his missing taxi circulating. Someone saw something, and it is never too late to come forward.
Sources: Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Canada’s Missing, missing-person case 2014001622; Abbotsford Police Department, police case 1982-14093; and Canada Unsolved, “Missing: Clayton Mark Bussiere (1982), Mission, BC,”.
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