It’s been 20 years since Joseph Andrews disappeared without a trace.
In what is considered one of the most high-profile missing youth cases Prince George has seen, the RCMP are once again appealing to the public for any potential clues or leads.
In an interview with MyPGNow.com, Cpl. Jennifer Cooper noted that on August 4th of 2002, Andrews and his foster family were staying at a campsite in Salmon Valley and was last spotted going into Salmon River.
Cooper noted his disappearance eventually led to one of the largest missing person searches the PG-area has ever seen.
“We had about 38-hundred people come up to Prince George to help with the search effort. We had 60 Search and Rescue participants, 34 street workers, we had Police Dog Service units, helicopters and even had civilian pilots that would offer their flight time to look.”
She mentioned that with the Andrews file being brought back into public view, someone who didn’t come forward previously might have a change of heart.
“We are hoping with another appeal to the public, someone may come forward that hasn’t spoken out before. Maybe a detail that they know was too insignificant for the police and perhaps they know something and just haven’t been able to bring it forward for whatever reason until now.”
“It would bring much-needed closure to the family and all of those involved who touched the investigation in some way,” added Cooper.
At the time of his disappearance Joseph weighed a shade under 70 pounds and was four-feet-nine-inches tall.
Cooper stated the investigation will remain open until police are able to pinpoint what exactly happened.