Casefile True Crime - Case 26: Lisa Marie Young

Episode Date: July 24, 2016

Vancouver Island. Known for its breathtaking scenery, astonishing postcard beauty and amazing wildlife. Heaven on earth. But on certain parts of the island, beneath the beauty, some will tell you there lies a dark underbelly. And in the early hours of the morning, June 30th, 2002, that underbelly came to the surface. For all credits and sources please visit casefilepodcast.com/case-26-lisa-marie-young

Vancouver Island, known for its breathtaking scenery, astonishing postcard beauty and amazing wildlife, heaven on earth. But on certain parts of the island, beneath the beauty, some will tell you there lies a dark underbelly. And in the early hours of the morning, June 30th, 2002, that underbelly came to the surface. Lisa Marie Young was born on the 5th of May 1981. She lived in Nanaima, a city on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. She lived with her parents, Dawn and Joanne Young and her two younger brothers.

Lisa was so sweet and gentle, very loving and protective of her younger brothers. If anybody ever had a problem, Lisa would always be there for them. She was a good listener, a beautiful and vibrant person. She did have a fiery side as well though. Lisa would never argue for the sake of arguing, but she always stood up for what she believed in. Lisa enjoyed hanging out with friends, dancing, water skiing, playing basketball and roller blading.

As athletic as she was, she also enjoyed music and painting. On Saturday 29th June 2002, Lisa, who was 21 at the time, was at home. She lived in an apartment with a roommate next door to her parents, but she was moving out into a new apartment the next day, Sunday. Lisa was looking forward to the future. Not only was she moving to a new place, but she was also starting a new job later that week at a call centre. She had plans to go back to school too, with the aim to become a TV sports announcer.

But first, it was time to party. It was the Canada Day long weekend, and one of Lisa's friends was also celebrating his birthday. His name is Dallas Hully. Lisa left at pretty late. It was 11pm that Saturday night when she left her parents' apartment and mentioned she was heading out. Her parents were worried, saying it was too late, especially since she was moving the

next day. But Lisa told them not to worry, she would be fine. Lisa made her way to the Jungle Night Club on Skinner Street in downtown Nanaimo. It's now called Club 241. She arrived there just before midnight. Lisa actually used to work in the club. Police say it wasn't a place they readily associated with trouble. Being a long weekend, downtown was a happening place, there were people out everywhere having

a good time. There were no problems inside the club, Lisa was just having fun with her friends. Lisa left the club about 2am. She walked out into the parking lot with her friend, Dallas Hully, and another male friend. They were hanging around outside talking and laughing, when one of Lisa's friends struck up a conversation with another male person, also hanging out in the parking lot. No one in the group knew who this male person was, but he seemed friendly enough. And they were most impressed with his car, which was an older model, Red Jaguar.

Lisa, Dallas, and their other friend mentioned they wanted to go to a house party. The male they just met in the Red Jaguar offered to drive them, and they accepted the lift. They headed to the house party where they stayed for about an hour, before deciding they wanted to move on to another house party in the Cathers Lake area. The male in the Red Jaguar again offered to drive them. Lisa and her friends accepted. Shortly after arriving at the second house party, Lisa mentioned she was hungry and wanted something to eat.

The male in the Red Jaguar overheard the conversation and offered to drive Lisa to get some food. Lisa accepted his offer. Lisa's friends remained at the party. The reason for this happening was that Lisa was a vegetarian. Her friends were not, and so they were happy to eat the food that was at the party. But Lisa couldn't eat what was there, and wanted to go and get a vegetarian meal. So she jumped in the Red Jaguar, alone, with the male driver. About 4.30 am, Lisa made a call to her friend, Dallas, who was still at the party.

Lisa said the male in the Red Jaguar had taken her to a house, and she was uncomfortable with the situation. She didn't like the house, or who was there, and she wasn't being allowed to leave. That was the last her friends heard from her. Later that day, Sunday 30th June, Don and Joanne were supposed to be helping Lisa move, but they hadn't heard from her, and they were starting to worry. They tried calling her phone several times, but it just kept ringing out. They checked with Lisa's roommate, and started to panic when she told them Lisa never came

home. There was no sign of her. Joanne and Don walked inside Lisa's apartment, and found her personal phone book. They called every single number inside it. But nobody had seen or heard from Lisa since the night before. Joanne and Don immediately knew something was wrong. Lisa was completely out of character. Lisa would always answer her phone, or at least call to let them know where she was.

Especially since she had enlisted their help to move that day. She wouldn't just take off without telling anyone. Joanne and Don called the police. The officer who took the call wasn't overly helpful. She's only been missing for a short time. You'll have to call back in 48 hours. Joanne and Don weren't waiting. They decided to take matters into their own hands, calling friends and family members,

and organising their own search for Lisa. They felt as though they couldn't just sit there, they had to do something. And it worked in a way, because the police did end up sending someone around that night to take a report. An officer from the local Royal Canadian Mounted Police attended. The officer asked some questions and took a photo of Lisa to add to the report. But still, Joanne and Don weren't satisfied. They got the impression from the officer who attended that he wasn't that interested.

The RCMP that came to see us that Sunday night of the 1st of July has said, OK, well, keep in touch, I'll be back to work in four days, which would be like a Friday or something. He has said, and I was horrified, you know, I thought, like, what, she's missing now. I want people out there now looking for my daughter. So they decided to contact the local media. They were interested. A reporter arrived straight away, and at the next day, Lisa's disappearance made the news.

A few days later, Joanne and Don were told the serious crime unit had taken over the case. This was both good and bad news. At least now, Lisa's disappearance was being taken seriously. But the fact that the serious crime unit was in charge of the investigation wasn't encouraging. So the big question is, who was the man in the red jaguar? Well, he was actually identified. Christopher Adair is his name. He was born in 1975, making him 27 the night Lisa disappeared.

Chris had been in some trouble with the law. He had charges for fraud, assault, traffic matters, and for bridging court orders. Police brought Chris in for questioning the month after Lisa's disappearance, July 2002. While he was at the station, Joanne Young, Lisa's mother, says she was brought in as well to confront Chris. This is not confirmed by the police, but Joanne says it happened. She was taken into the interrogation room where Chris was being questioned. There was a large photo of Lisa on the whiteboard.

Next to the photo were three words, rape, murder, and accident. Joanne asked Chris to tell her where Lisa was. Chris replied, I can't. There was a pause before he continued with, I'm sorry, I don't mean to disrespect your family. Chris then trailed off. Joanne says the meeting was only brief, and that she was surprised when she saw Chris. He didn't look or seem like a monster, just a normal guy.

Whatever account Chris gave to police in that interview room is unknown. What he said happened when he was with Lisa has never been made public. But whatever his story was, it was good enough for him to be released without charge. An examination of his vehicle by police failed to uncover any evidence suggesting foul play. However, there were whispers around town that the red jaguar had been stained cleaned before the police got anywhere near it. Chris has always remained a person of interest. Even years later, in media reports, police have made appeals to the public that anyone

who may have seen the red jaguar that night in a suspicious area or idling for an extended period of time to immediately come forward. I should clarify, the red jaguar wasn't Chris's vehicle that belonged to his grandmother, Geraldine Adair, also known as Jerry. Jerry was a powerful and prominent realtor and a businesswoman in the town of Qualicum Beach, also located on Vancouver Island, less than an hour's drive away from Nanaimo. She promoted and sponsored many organisations, local groups and charities. There are some reports that suggest Jerry told the police her grandson Chris had nothing

to do with Lisa's disappearance, and if they kept harassing him, she would take legal action. Jerry sold her red jaguar after Chris was declared a person of interest, but it had already been examined by police at that stage. John and Joanne Young had organised posters to go up appealing for anyone with information about Lisa to come forward. After learning that police had identified the driver of the red jaguar, they updated the posters, naming Chris Adair. When the police learnt that the posters had been updated with Chris's name, they urged

the Youngs to reconsider. The Youngs didn't reconsider and went ahead with the posters. No one refused to display them. The police are still treating Lisa as a missing person. They say the investigation is ongoing. They suspect she met with foul play, but they refuse to make further comment. It does seem odd that so much information is known about Lisa's last movements. They know who she left the party with, and they know she was taken to a house.

If you've listened to Episode 14, The Case on Helen Munnings, it was a similar story there. Police know who she was with before she disappeared. But there is no trace of her. They can't prove exactly what happened. The last court appearance Chris Adair made in British Columbia was on the 11th of October, 2002. He was charged with assaulting a peace officer in Yorkden, in the province of Saskatchewan. Over 1,000 miles away.

That assault occurred in August 2002, two months after Lisa disappeared. For whatever reason though, he appeared in an Animo court in relation to the charge on the 11th of October. He may have left Yorkden before justice caught up with him there and returned to Animo where he was picked up for it. Whatever the reason, that is the end of his criminal record and court appearances in British Columbia, because Chris packed up and moved away. So whose house did Chris take Lisa to?

Nothing has ever been officially released. But if you do enough searching on this case, you will come across this line. Everyone knows what happened. It is believed by many that when he offered Lisa a ride to get food, Chris took her to a house only 10 minutes away from the party they were at. And as you've already heard, Lisa expressed discomfort with what was happening and where she was taken to. What happened once Lisa and Chris reached this location is said to involve men who are notorious

around the Animo area. Men with extensive criminal associations. And there are persistent rumours of links to crime gangs. But it wasn't just those men said to be responsible. Others are said to be involved with what happened to Lisa, including a woman referred to as the clean-up girl. A bit of background on Animo at the time of Lisa's disappearance. It is reported that there was a thriving drug trade that existed there.

As an Animo is a central location on Vancouver Island, with access along highway corridors, large amounts of drugs were said to be moved through there at the time. The Hell's Angels were very prominent and still do have a presence there, although the authorities have cracked down on them, seizing their clubhouse under the Civil Forfeiture Act, claiming that it could be used for criminal activity in the future. That seizure is actually still before the courts. The Hell's Angels are fighting it. Along with the Hell's Angels, it is said that there was an Asian triad presence in Animo,

as well as other crime figures. It's not publicly known whether or not police ever formally searched the house to which Lisa Marie Young was taken by Chris Adair in the early morning hours of the 30th of June 2002. There are other properties said to be connected with the case as well. It's not publicly known if they were searched either. All the police will say is it's an open case and if they suspect foul play. As for why Chris took Lisa to the house and what happened after they reached this location, we don't know.

But clearly, there are people that do. And that's where the trail ends for Lisa's case. When you google the case, you'll get some newspaper articles and some basic facts. But if you dig a little deeper, you'll get taken down a rabbit hole to some very dark places. It's hard to talk about anonymous internet comments on the show. There's just no way to verify what is being said. And most are pretty vague and aren't that clear anyway. So I won't mention what they are.

But it looks to be a case where there are people with the story to tell. We just need them to come forward and tell it. Unfortunately, the Youngs have been victims of numerous prank callers. On one call, the person said, I'm moving Lisa's body right now. The police managed to trace the call, but all they did was tell the caller not to ring again. Joanne Young still does everything she can to keep Lisa's memory alive.

She hands out pamphlets and still puts up posters, although some businesses are no longer as happy to put them up, grumbling about the clutter they create on their windows. The Youngs have organised a vigil and candlelight ceremony each year since Lisa's disappearance. Joanne believes there is more than one person who knows what happened to Lisa, and she prays that one of those people will come forward to finally give them closure. Until then, she is doing everything she can to make sure no one forgets. Alison Crowe was a friend of Lisa's.

Alison is a musician, and she wrote a song called Lisa's Song. It is beautiful and touching, and is played at the vigils held for Lisa. Lisa's Song will close out the episode today. Lisa's Song will close out the episode today. Lisa's Song will close out the episode today. Lisa's Song will close out the episode today. Lisa's Song will close out the episode today. Lisa's Song will close out the episode today.

Lisa's Song will close out the episode today. Lisa's Song will close out the episode today. Lisa's Song will close out the episode today.