With the date of the Jack family’s tragic disappearance coming up soon, the search for the family has continued and has still come up empty.
This year marks 33 years since the Jack family’s disappearance on Aug. 2, 1989, when Ronald, also known as Ronnie, his wife Doreen and children Russell and Ryan were last seen or heard from. The family, who was headed out of town after the couple received a job offer to work on a ranch or a logging camp near Clucluz Lake near Vanderhoof, from a stranger at the First Litre Pub, was officially declared missing on Aug. 25 1989.
Ronnie had called up his brother, and his parents in Burns Lake, to let them know of his new job and that they would be back in about 10 days. However, according to Ronnie’s mother, Mable Jack, something felt off even then.
“I was the last one to speak to Ronnie and he said to me, ‘Mom, I am going to work near Clucluz Lake, and if you don’t hear from me, come looking’ and something felt wrong about this whole thing” said Mable.
Earlier, Ronnie had asked her for money because he owed the money to someone, but she couldn’t get it to him before he disappeared. After the family’s disappearance, she spoke with a neighbour that lived by Ronnie, and that neighbour told her she saw the family getting into a vehicle and it drove away and that was the last time they were seen.
Over the years, while there have been a few leads, and the police have conducted several interviews, there has been no trace of the family. In 2020, a forensic artist with the Miami-Dade Police Department released age-progressed photos of the missing Jack family, through the Facebook page, Unidentified Human Remains Canada.
Mable is no stranger to missing family members, as her husband Casimel Thomas Jack went missing in September 2005, at the age of 70 years, from his Mollice Lake home. Casimel had left early in the morning to hunt moose, and never returned. Although there was an extensive search of the area where Casimel went missing – involving local volunteers, search and rescue, family members and RCMP – he was never located.
“Years after Casimel went missing, a Southside man came up to her with Casimel’s knife. I asked him where he got that and he said that Casimel had given it to him years ago,” said Mable, who thinks this was untrue, as that was a prized knife with which Casimel would have never parted, and never would have just given it away to someone.
While the disappearances of those near and dear have been very hard for Mable, she is thankful to her family for always being there for her since the disappearances, especially her grandson Jamie, who nursed her back to health with soap berries after she fell severely ill this year.
Her dream now is to find out what happened to her family, and to see the Pope when he comes to Alberta.
“All I want is to find them, so I can have peace,” said Mable.
Anyone with information about the Jack family, where they are, or who is responsible for their disappearance, is urged to contact the Prince George RCMP at 250-561-3300. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1(800)222-8477 or online at www.pgcrimestoppers.bc.ca (English only).