July 2 2017
by Cynthia Reason
https://www.insidetoronto.com/news-...een-since-confrontation-with-parents-in-1988/
Amber Potts-Jaffary
by Cynthia Reason
https://www.insidetoronto.com/news-...een-since-confrontation-with-parents-in-1988/
Amber Potts-Jaffary
Don Presseys last glimpse of his stepdaughter was of her disappearing figure as she climbed into the car of a stranger shed flagged down on Lake Shore Boulevard West in south Etobicoke.
That was nearly 29 years ago. Amber Potts-Jaffary hasnt been seen since.
Even all these years later, Pressey still breaks down in tears as he recalls the final moments he and his late wife, Christine Jaffary, spent with Amber.
It was approaching noon on Nov. 26, 1988, and his then-16-year-old stepdaughter had stayed out the night before to party with a group of friends. Tipped off to her whereabouts by a friend, Pressey accompanied his worried wife, whom friends and family called Chris, down to the south Etobicoke motel where Amber had crashed for the night.
Chris rationally and calmly read Amber the riot act for about 30 minutes. In the end, she said We want you with us, so if you want to come home, youre welcome to come home. But this, what youve done (staying out all night), is unacceptable.
As soon as she put her foot out the door, she ran. She was young and fast and agile, and I was too old and too slow to keep up, Pressey recalled, noting that he and Jaffary pursued Amber on foot out to Lake Shore Boulevard West, calling for her to come back.
She flagged down a passing car, he stopped and let her in, and they disappeared. I was standing 150 yards back with Chris as we watched them go. There was nothing left for us to do but walk back, get our vehicle and go home. We never saw her again.
Making matters worse, he added, was the fact that Amber vanished in the midst of Paul Bernardos reign of terror as the Scarborough Rapist.
It was a terrible crisis for us. The police were involved and Bernardo was at his peak, Pressey said of the convicted serial killer and rapist believed to be responsible for nearly 24 rapes and attempted rapes in the GTA from 1987 to 1992.
Amber was never found, but I secretly believe she was a (Bernardo victim). There were a number of girls, like about 10, that disappeared around that time and were never found. I believe she was one of them.
As a voluntary service, our goal is to ensure no families search alone. Don has a big heart and we are honoured that he accepted our assistance.
Likewise, it was Huzyk, Pressey said, who called him up not too long ago to gently inform him that police at south Etobicokes 22 Division had been contacted by law enforcement officials in the U.S. when they found the remains of a woman that matched Ambers description.
We followed up on the leads that they gave us and, at that point, we excluded any kind of potential match between Amber and the case that they had in the States. It wasnt her.
Anyone with information about Amber Potts-Jaffarys disappearance is asked to contact the 22 Division youth bureau office at 416-808-2205, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS, or submit a tip online at missingkids.ca/app/en/tip_or_sighting