Found Deceased Canada - Jacqueline McDermott, 22, car broke down on Hwy 97 C, between Merritt and Logan Lake, BC, 30 Sept 2022

[dotr]

Ontario family pleads for help after daughter disappears in BC | News

Jaqueline McDermott, 22, of Kitchener, Ontario, has been reported missing in BC, and her family is pleading for help in locating her.

dailyhive.com

''As of now, McDermott has been missing for over 72 hours.

“Every passing hour is agony,” St-Maurice says.
McDermott is described as a Caucasian female, 5’7 feet tall, 111 pounds, with curly blonde hair, a fair complexion, and a nose piercing. Her family says she has multiple tattoos and often wears glasses.

Anyone who has seen Jaqueline, or knows where she may be, is urged to contact Merritt RCMP at 250-378-4262.''

 

[otto]

Especially if her cellphone is left behind. No tracking ability. I mean if she went out to for example do nature's call nrat her van she would take her cellphone with her. Its a communication device and it provides light in a darker area say with trees. Its concerning if she left it behind. Another thing is even if it needed charging she could do so by taking it with her along with her phone charger, the fact that she didn't do so is concerning. One would hope she would walk to the nearest gas station so she could get help if her phone was uncharged. The other concerning thing is that if her phone had a charge and she turned it off at some point to conserve that is possible, but wouldn't she ask for help before her phone lost its charge? So IMO something has happened that may be of a very serious nature. I wonder what time she left the yoga retreat as she left it early. Does that mean she was going to come back at some point and went out for a short while but had vehicle problems and couldn't come back. But she would let them know instead of being stuck out on the road.

Most people who are travelling use restrooms at truck stops or other convenient places.

 

[5W's]

They seem quite certain that she left on September 30th.

I agree that she was accosted and taken by surprise. Any other scenario would at least have her lock up her van and take the keys, IMO. I read that her van did not have a bathroom. Perhaps she went into the woods/brush to relieve herself and someone took advantage of her vulnerability?

Edit: Is it at all possible that was attacked by a wild animal?

Its possibel but there would be evidence of the attack, as it would be close to her vehicle if she went a couple of feet away into a clearing for example. LE would search that area and there has been no rain in the area to dissipate the signs of an animal attack.. BC is in a drought tright now. Bear, coyote, mountain lion, are what come to mind in terms of wild animals for the area.

 

[5W's]

They seem quite certain that she left on September 30th.

I agree that she was accosted and taken by surprise. Any other scenario would at least have her lock up her van and take the keys, IMO. I read that her van did not have a bathroom. Perhaps she went into the woods/brush to relieve herself and someone took advantage of her vulnerability?

Edit: Is it at all possible that was attacked by a wild animal?

I was thinking she might go back but now looking at that angle it seems she left because it may not have been what she expected. Because she was seen the morning of Oct, 1. The jerrycan would only carry a certain amount of gas. So she was seen at the gas station filling the jerrycan then she walked back to her van I am assuming. What happened after that? Did she decide to drive further up the highway and ran into trouble agin in terms of gas since it wasn't enough. I suppose its possible. I can think that she may have thought that the gas would last her to her destination, but maybe it didn't? But then maybe her van in fact did have a mechanical issue and it sralled. What time was it by that point. If it was dark maybe she decided to stay put and deal with it in the morning and when she fell asleep something happened.

 

[5W's]

Most people who are travelling use restrooms at truck stops or other convenient places.

I agree but sometimes things can go haywired and the unexptected happen. I am assuming she didn't even make it to a truckstop or near a restroom, unfortunately, and something happened at that spot.

 

[5W's]

If the schedule is bed at 9 and breakfast at 4, the last time they saw her might be at bedtime, and she could have left before the 4 AM wake up call.

In any case, she was alive and well on Oct 1, less than an hour away. She had vehicle trouble. I wonder whether she had roadside assistance service and was waiting for someone to help out.

I wonder whether her phone battery was dead from having been unused while at the retreat.

I'm sure they would let her recharge it. But of course I could be wrong. As you said if it was uncharged due to non use then she wouldn't have been able to call for help sge would need a passerby's help.

 

[otto]

According to her mother, she was last seen on the morning of October 1st putting fuel into her van from a jerry can she travelled with.

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If she was last seen on the morning of Oct 1, putting gas in her vehicle, and the trip was an hour long, she must have vanished during daylight.

 

[otto]

I agree but sometimes things can go haywired and the unexptected happen. I am assuming she didn't even make it to a truckstop or near a restroom, unfortunately, and something happened at that spot.

She had just passed through Merritt. Merritt is a populated area. She could eat, use restrooms, get gas, buy groceries and do whatever she needed to do before making the 30 minute drive to Logan Lake.

 

[otto]

I'm sure they would let her recharge it. But of course I could be wrong. As you said if it was uncharged due to non use then she wouldn't have been able to call for help sge would need a passerby's help.

If she left early, perhaps she didn't ask to recharge the phone. I'm assuming that she has a charger in her vehicle, but it might rely on the vehicle running to charge the phone. It also depends on what type of phone she has ... how quickly it charges.

 

[jash]

The jerrycan would only carry a certain amount of gas. So she was seen at the gas station filling the jerrycan then she walked back to her van I am assuming.

It sounds like she traveled with a full jerry can. I have no idea how big hers was and how far it would get her. I think the 20-litre ones are pretty common but maybe it was only 10L.

According to her mom: “We now know she was last seen on Saturday morning, October 1, putting gas into her van (she kept a small jerrycan with gas in it with her)." dailyhive.com/vancouver/jaqueline-mcdermott-missing

 

[5W's]

I'd be very surprised if she is still alive...what has she been eating for the past week? It'll be cold (ish) at night too. She has nothing with her. All belongings were in the van and she didn't go back to get anything or sleep in it.

MOO.

Yes, I agree. Why would she abandon her van as it was her home. She enjoyed her life travelling. IMO she was having fun in her life, A few reasons LE thinks she could be alive is , yes if she is lost, but why wouldn't she stay on the road and instead walk into bush? But, the nights do get cold. Without proper wear she could get hypothermia. Or LE thinks she is alive because if someone took her its possible she's still alive. But why wouldn't she she say where she was? That is not a good sign.

 

[5W's]

If she was last seen on the morning of Oct 1, putting gas in her vehicle, and the trip was an hour long, she must have vanished during daylight.

As I said maybe she decided to stay put. I realize it was morning when she was last seen but as the day progressed things may have happened that were unexpected. So this caused her problems and as a result she is now missing. I assume she walked back to her van and the van may have broken down afterwards so maybe this time it wasn't a gas issue with her van. IDK how much gas she had in the jerrycan to begin with so maybe it didn't last her and she had to stop again or mechanical issue. Either way her van was causing her issues for her travel as we can see as has been reported.

 

[otto]

It sounds like she traveled with a full jerry can. I have no idea how big hers was and how far it would get her. I think the 20-litre ones are pretty common but maybe it was only 10L.

According to her mom: “We now know she was last seen on Saturday morning, October 1, putting gas into her van (she kept a small jerrycan with gas in it with her)." dailyhive.com/vancouver/jaqueline-mcdermott-missing

She had just driven by several gas stations in Merritt, and she was only travelling 30 minutes; 30 miles (50 km).

Was she seen filling up with gas using the jerry can, or she was seen in Merritt getting gas?

It doesn't make sense that she would be so low on gas that she needed to use the jerry can when she had just driven by gas stations.

 

[youarentsilly]

I wish they disclosed exactly where her van was found. I'm wondering if maybe she pulled over for the night and perhaps the next morning she was having trouble starting the van which is when someone saw her pouring gas from a jerrycan.

She didn't get very far after leaving the retreat. She drove for at least 30 minutes (that's how long it takes to get to Merritt, according to Google) but less than an hour (Logan Lake is an hour from the retreat).

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Agreed. Its not a long distance or a short distance between the two cities, exactly. The best characterization that I can come up with is that its too far of a distance to be useful in this circumstance. Maybe the person who saw her doesn't know where she was? Seems a bit silly but I can't think of why they wouldn't advertise a more specific location if it were available.

 

[otto]

Have police asked everyone who travelled that road that day who has dashcam footage to preserve and share it with investigators? Are police treating this as a serious crime investigation, or a possible : lost in the woods scenario?

The fact that her keys are with her vehicle doesn't fit with going for a short hike. She would take her keys with her. In fact, I don't think she'd let them out of her sight.

Her vehicle broke down on the side of the road. She might have thought she was out of gas and the gas gauge was broken. Worth a shot to top up the gas. What happened next? Open the hood and poke around?


When I saw this discussion, my first thoughts were the Australian man and his USA girlfriend whose van broke down on the side of a BC highway. They became thrill kill victims. I also thought of Madison Scott from Vanderhoof. She vanished from her lakeside campsite. There are few crimes like this, but when they happen, they're often usual. Just an opinion.

 

[otto]

Yes, I agree. Why would she abandon her van as it was her home. She enjoyed her life travelling. IMO she was having fun in her life, A few reasons LE thinks she could be alive is , yes if she is lost, but why wouldn't she stay on the road and instead walk into bush? But, the nights do get cold. Without proper wear she could get hypothermia. Or LE thinks she is alive because if someone took her its possible she's still alive. But why wouldn't she she say where she was? That is not a good sign.

I think that if she had free will, she would still be with her van. It had a bed and a kitchen, so she had a place to sleep and stay warm.

 

[youarentsilly]

I don't recall anything about the cell phone, but I have read that everything she owned was in the van. The keys were found with the van. I can't see a 22 year old leaving her keys behind for any reason. That was her home. She must have had a phone charger in her vehicle, but if the vehicle wasn't running - perhaps the charger wasn't working.

BBM
I agree with this statement. I can't think of any reason that a person planning to come back would just leave the keys. If she were walking to get gas, hiking to the next city because of a breakdown, hitchhiking, going into the woods to relieve herself, going for a smoke, conversing with a good Samaritan on the side of the road... And in this case I believe she worked out of the van, so it was transportation, workspace, and occasional residence.

 

[LovesPeace2]

Yes, I get that. I know Winnipeg is in MB not BC, I wasn't really talking about it in relation to this case, but just generally.

Don't you think 41 murders in Winnipeg in 9 months is huge?!

Wpg sucks I grew up there and live in bc now it’s safer in Vancouver then wpg ,but murders seem to be on the rise everywhere

 

[otto]

As I said maybe she decided to stay put. I realize it was morning when she was last seen but as the day progressed things may have happened that were unexpected. So this caused her problems and as a result she is now missing. I assume she walked back to her van and the van may have broken down afterwards so maybe this time it wasn't a gas issue with her van. IDK how much gas she had in the jerrycan to begin with so maybe it didn't last her and she had to stop again or mechanical issue. Either way her van was causing her issues for her travel as we can see as has been reported.

Timeline ...

September 30 - leaves the retreat, drives 30 minutes to Merritt.
October 1, morning - adding gas, location unknown
October 1, morning - starts 30 minute, 30 mile drive to Logan Lake

20 minutes later, she is near Mamit Lake. This is mentioned upthread as the general location where her van was found. Her vehicle stops working. She is 9 miles from Logan Lake. She seems fit and healthy enough to jog or walk that distance in daylight, but she would lock her van.

My point is that she was not stranded. She wasn't in some desolate place where she had to pee in the woods rather than use the toilet (no more than 15 minutes away at any time). She also wasn't in a place where someone would need a jerry can. She would go to the gas station.

 

[otto]

I'm curious to know:

• at what time was her vehicle first seen at the side of the road,
• what time was she seen using the jerry can on the morning of Oct 1,
• where was she seen using the jerry can, and
• what time was her vehicle located by police.

I'm curious because her vehicle seems to be near a lake. Perhaps she stopped for a short hike, but when she returned to her vehicle, perhaps there were vehicle problems.