40 years later, Chilliwack RCMP ID man in probe of missing Jo-Anne Pederson | 24CA News

Four many years since she vanished from the Fraser Valley, Mounties say they’re dedicated to fixing the disappearance of 10-year-old Jo-Anne Pedersen, and have lately recognized a person on the centre of the 40-year-old thriller.

Jo-Anne disappeared from a cellphone sales space outdoors a Chilliwack comfort retailer on Feb. 19, 1983.

An exhaustive RCMP air and floor search involving canine and groups of volunteers discovered no hint of the lacking lady, nor any indicators of foul play.

If Jo-Anne is alive at the moment, she can be 50 years outdated.

40 years later, the case stays unsolved, though RCMP say it’s nonetheless an “active investigation,” and any ideas acquired from the general public are being adopted by investigators.

“It grabbed at everybody’s heartstrings — it was a very, very troubling case,” recalled retired Global BC crime reporter John L. Daly.

“It’s like something out of a movie, and yet it’s real.”

What Daly remembers probably the most is the chilling 2008 Crimestoppers re-enactment of the night Jo-Anne vanished.

“To see this little girl in a rainy phone booth, you know, cars passing by, apparently talking to some guy in a black coat,” Daly instructed Global News in an interview Sunday.

“It was just horrible.”

While their dad and mom had been out for the night time, Jo-Anne had been strolling residence together with her sister once they acquired into an argument.

Her sister ran residence and locked the door.

Jo-Anne walked to the Penny Pinchers retailer that was once close to Vedder and Watson Roads in Sardis, the place she walked inside and spoke to the clerk earlier than leaving to make use of the cellphone sales space outdoors.

Police mentioned Jo-Anne known as the operator from the cellphone sales space to attach together with her dad and mom, and witnesses noticed a person contained in the cellphone sales space together with her.

Two days after Jo-Anne went lacking, her mom recalled that final name together with her daughter.

“She phoned and said come and pick me up and then… [Reporter: And didn’t a man come on the phone at one point?] Yes, a man, that same man with her came on the phone and said you’d better get here within half an hour or I’m phoning the police – and I was there between 15 and 20 minutes,” mentioned her mom in a Feb. 21, 1983, interview.

But Jo-Anne was gone.

Then 25 years later, and after the Crimestoppers re-enactment video was posted to YouTube, Jo-Anne’s mom made an emotional plea to the thriller man – who RCMP had not but recognized.

“Please come forward, that would really relieve me of so much grief,” mentioned Angela Reilly in a video launched by RCMP on Feb. 19, 2008.

“Please come forward. As a mother, I’m pleading for you to come forward, please do that for me.”

Three years later, there was a break within the case when an nameless letter dated Aug. 28, 2011, was hand-delivered to Chilliwack RCMP.

“There’s certain details I guess in the letter that only this person would know,” Cpl. Tammy Hollingsworth with Upper Fraser Valley RCMP mentioned in a Sept. 2011 interview.

Hollingsworth famous there was pertinent info they wanted to proceed the investigation, and so they actually wanted to talk with this individual.

At the time, police revealed the person seen within the cellphone sales space with Pedersen earlier than she vanished with out a hint had written them an nameless letter in 2008, however investigators weren’t sure he was behind the 2011 letter.

Fast ahead to 2023 and, days earlier than the 40^th anniversary of Jo-Anne’s disappearance, Chilliwack RCMP has recognized the person within the cellphone sales space.

RCMP said in a news launch: “Recently, police were able to identify this male and rule him out as a suspect, his identity will not be shared with the public at this time.”

Daly mentioned it’s perplexing to be taught RCMP have lastly recognized the thriller man in any case these years, and are publicly stating that he’s not even an individual of curiosity.

“One can only wonder what they’ve told him and why it took so long to find him, and why he didn’t come forward earlier,” mentioned Daly.

“Or have they discovered who he was, determined who he was, and he’s dead – we don’t know.”

While there could now be extra questions than solutions, Chilliwack RCMP say the investigation into Jo-Anne’s disappearance has by no means stopped and so they haven’t misplaced hope that they may discover out what occurred to her.

“The police went to the wall to solve this 25 years ago, and it looks like they’re prepared to go to the wall again,” mentioned Daly.

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