They want closure. The pain of not knowing what happened to their mother, who disappeared on a walk five years ago, clearly still torments her three adult children. Since no trace of her has turned up in all this time, and RCMP say foul play is a consideration.
Petite, fit 80-year-old Rhody Lake disappeared on the afternoon of Sunday, Nov. 27, 2005 while on a walk near Sechelt's Porpoise Bay Provincial Park.
Lake is described as having reddish-gray shoulder length hair and blue eyes, and is approximately 5'2" and 120 pounds. She was carrying a walking stick and wearing gloves and a bright red/orange toque.
"My mother loved to be outside and she was very familiar with the area and all the trails," said daughter Jennifer Lake Tipper.
Sunshine Coast RCMP are hoping that by launching an intensive media campaign on the five-year anniversary of Lake's disappearance that someone will come forward with information that will break the case.
A Crime Stoppers video was shot on the Coast this week and will be posted soon at the RCMP media website and will be shown on Coast TV on the Sunshine Coast.
"She was last seen talking to a tall older man with gray hair and a tan jacket on Sechelt Inlet Road, near the entrance to the park. He had a medium-to-large sized dog with him," said Sunshine Coast RCMP Sgt. Stuart Falebrinza. "We made extensive appeals at the time, but have not been able to identify the man. We are still looking for him, or anyone who knows something, to come forward."
Sunshine Coast search and rescue manager ??Alec Tebbutt said the search he led for Lake five years ago was one of the largest he's ever been involved in, covering 40 sq. km. Five police dogs and an RCMP helicopter joined 16 trained search and rescue teams, the coast guard auxiliary, a private helicopter and more than 200 volunteers.
"There were no clues -nothing to follow up on," Tebbutt said of the results of the search. "It's an unusual outcome, as there were also numerous shoreline searches, two evidence searches and other less formal searches done in the areas in the following years."
Anyone with information is urged to contact Sunshine Coast RCMP at 604-885-2266 or remain anonymous by contacting Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
