Joanne Young will host the 12th vigil for her daughter, who disappeared June 30, 2002.
Lisa Marie Young was 19 when she disappeared after leaving a house party. No trace of the young woman has ever been found, but every year since, her mother has held an annual walk and candlelight vigil to keep her memory – and the hope for an answer to her disappearance – alive.
Prior to Lisa Marie’s disappearance, Joanne Young said she trusted her daughter would be safe in a small town.
“Her dad said years ago, when she was a little girl, that she would ask, ‘Are there monsters underneath my bed?’ and he said, ‘Oh, no. There’s nothing,’” Young said. “Years later, who would expect a monster would, you know?”
This year’s walk and vigil, Remembering Lisa Marie, happens Saturday (June 28) at the Lions Pavilion in Maffeo Sutton Park from noon until 3 p.m.
The walk traces a route over Pearson Bridge on Terminal Avenue and returns along the waterfront to Maffeo Sutton Park where a candlelight vigil with music by local singers will be held. The event finishes with a barbecued salmon lunch.
“One day we’d like to get closure,” Joanne said. “I mean, we always have that hope, right?”
Anyone with information about what happened to Lisa Marie Young is asked to contact Nanaimo RCMP at 250-754-2345 or contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.nanaimocrimestoppers.com.