CANADA Canada - Ronald, 27, & Theresa Yakimchuk, 23, Edmonton, AB, 1 June 1973

[TheArtfulDetective]

Ronald & Theresa Yakimchuk



Missing Since: June 1, 1973
Location Last Seen: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Case Classification: Missing

Details of Disappearance:
Ronald Yakimchuk and his wife, Theresa, left Edmonton, Alberta, to head east to Montréal, Québec, on June 9, 1973. They were going to attend a wedding on June 16, before settling in the Maritimes. The last contact from the couple was a postcard from Theresa sent from Dryden, Ontario, on June 12. They never arrived to the wedding and have never been seen or heard from again. Since their disappearance, there has not been any activity on their bank accounts, nor was Ron's life insurance ever collected.

The couple was traveling in a 1959 Volkswagen Beetle, red with a green hood, green fender and Alberta license CA3-262. The car was packed with a white, three-metre kayak, and boxes of clothes, books, and household goods. The vehicle has never been located and the Yakimchuk's whereabouts remain unknown.

____________________________________________________________

Theresa Anne Yakimchuk



Physical Description:
Date of Birth: December 30, 1949
Age: 23
Race: Caucasian
Gender: Female
Height: 163cm / 5 ft 4 in
Weight: 55kg / 121lb
Hair Color: Blonde
Eye Color: Blue
Nickname/Alias: Terry Pettit. Terry Yakimchuk. Theresa Anne Pettit.
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Unknown
Clothing & Personal Items: Wears glasses. Silver braided wedding band.
Identifiers: DNA available

The Doe Network: Case File 2461DFAB

____________________________________________________________

Ronald Paul Yakimchuk



Physical Description:
Date of Birth: March 25, 1946
Age: 27
Race: Caucasian
Gender: Male
Height: 183cm / 6 ft 0 in
Weight: 68kg / 150lb
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Nickname/Alias: Ron
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Scar on bridge of nose. Mole on shoulder blade.
Clothing & Personal Items: Silver braided wedding band.
Identifiers: DNA available

3615DMAB - Ronald Paul Yakimchuk

____________________________________________________________

Investigators:

1. Edmonton Police Service: 780-423-4567
   Reference Case#: 74-005051
   
2. Crime Stoppers: 1-800-222-TIPS(8477) or online at Canadian Crime Stoppers Association
   Crime Stoppers provides anonymous tipping
   
3. Send email to the National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains at: canadasmissing-disparuscanada@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
   
4. Ontario Provincial Police
   Missing Persons and Unidentified Bodies/Remains Unit
   1-877-934-6363 - Toll Free in North America
   705-330-4144 - Local or outside of North America
   Agency Case Number: 74-5051

Canada's Missing | Case details
DNA could crack 45-year-old cold case of Edmonton missing couple | Edmonton Journal

 

[tarabull]

It's been 50 years since a couple left for a wedding in Ontario and disappeared

This June will mark 50 years since an Edmonton couple left the city for a wedding in Ontario and were never heard from again. Ronald and Theresa Ya...

www.blogto.com

 

[TheArtfulDetective]

A mystery unsolved: Former Journal writer remembers colleagues who vanished 50 years ago​

Rod Mickleburgh
Published Jun 29, 2023

"The mystery of their disappearance remains as perplexing today as it was when we first began to worry about their whereabouts later that summer."

A mystery unsolved: Former Journal writer remembers colleagues who vanished 50 years ago

Fifty years ago this June, good friends Terry Pettit and Ronald Yakimchuk packed belongings into the back seat of a beat-up, 1959 Volkswagen

edmontonjournal.com

 

[ChantyG]

This John Doe has some striking similarities! The TikTok is under the profile @thedoeproject

 

[ChantyG]

A mystery unsolved: Former Journal writer remembers colleagues who vanished 50 years ago​

Rod Mickleburgh
Published Jun 29, 2023

"The mystery of their disappearance remains as perplexing today as it was when we first began to worry about their whereabouts later that summer."

A mystery unsolved: Former Journal writer remembers colleagues who vanished 50 years ago

Fifty years ago this June, good friends Terry Pettit and Ronald Yakimchuk packed belongings into the back seat of a beat-up, 1959 Volkswagen

edmontonjournal.com

I’m not great on this forum. I just saw a TikTok of a John Doe who has striking similarities. I posted a comment here with screen grabs.

 

[madamx]

From the archives: Vanishing point — the mysterious disappearance of Edmonton journalists Terry Pettit and Ron Yakimchuk

In June 1973, an Edmonton couple set out in their battered Volkswagen for a wedding in Montreal. They never arrived. A postcard with a one-word message was their last contact with loved ones who are still haunted by the disappearance.

edmontonjournal.com

 

[madamx]

DNA could crack 45-year-old cold case of Edmonton missing couple

If DNA evidence related to an Edmonton couple who seemingly vanished 45 years ago en route to Eastern Canada is ever discovered, that may crack the case, say…

edmontonjournal.com

 

[Raging Ranter]

The route through northern Ontario is full of lakes. The highway is never straight - constant twists and turns. My guess is the car left the road, ended up in a lake, sunk to the bottom, and remains there still. Though it seems odd that none of their belongings ever surfaced. However, some belongings may have surfaced after a time, but whoever found them did not realize the significance.

 

[doublestop]

The route through northern Ontario is full of lakes. The highway is never straight - constant twists and turns. My guess is the car left the road, ended up in a lake, sunk to the bottom, and remains there still.

That's exactly what I was thinking. Unfortunately because there are so many lakes they'll probably only be found accidentally, if at all.

 

[Raging Ranter]

My wife and I drove from Ottawa to Winnipeg & back in July of last year. There is nothing but lakes, rivers, forest and rock for nearly the entirety of the 2000 km (1200 mile) drive. I bet there are many points along the way where, under the right circumstances, a car could leave the road and just never be found.

 

[Nate_Bro]

Imagine a story where they somehow ended up in the US?

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

By bringing people, information, forensic science and technology together, NamUs helps resolve cases.

www.namus.gov

 

[John/Jane Doe]

3615DMAB - Ronald Paul Yakimchuk

2461DFAB - Theresa Anne Pettit

 

[annpats]

Some observations:

They both look older than 27 and 23 years old.

If they left Edmonton, Alberta on the 9th June, they did well to reach Dryden in Ontario on the 12th June.
The road distance is 1663km. So they were travelling at 554km per day, in a 14 year old VW Beetle.

They must've been tired. They were travelling in the summer, so we're probably hot as well (a 1959 Beetle doesn't have air conditioning).....and it also has drum brakes front and rear, so it wouldn't have been very quick to stop.

I wondered if they swerved to avoid a moose in the road and ended up in one of the many, many lakes.
It's so rural out there, and frozen for nearly half the year, if anyone does find them, it'll be by accident/luck.

 

[annpats]

There is an older thread already on WS.

CANADA - Canada - Ron Yakimchuk, 27, & Terry Pettit, 23, Dryden ON, 12 June 1973

Can you tell I like to post the older Canadian cases? http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/3615dmab.html The Doe Network: Case File 3615DMAB Ron Yakimchuk Missing since June 12, 1973 from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Classification: Missing Vital Statistics * Date Of Birth: March...

www.websleuths.com

@Sillybilly

Can these 2 threads be merged?

 

[Markybug]

Missing person/s and car is almost always an accident? So presumably they are in a lake somewhere

 

[OddOneOut]

There is an older thread already on WS.

CANADA - Canada - Ron Yakimchuk, 27, & Terry Pettit, 23, Dryden ON, 12 June 1973

Can you tell I like to post the older Canadian cases? http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/3615dmab.html The Doe Network: Case File 3615DMAB Ron Yakimchuk Missing since June 12, 1973 from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Classification: Missing Vital Statistics * Date Of Birth: March...

www.websleuths.com

@Sillybilly

Can these 2 threads be merged?

Thank you, I was looking for this older thread and couldn't find it.

I wish the article that mentioned a "reasonably credible" sighting in Parry Sound had more specifics. That would really narrow down the possible location of where they went missing as it appears to be much closer to where they were headed.