Coping with the loss of her child meant a lonely, emotion-filled 40 years-plus for Denise McKee..Feelings she thought she'd never share with anyone — shock, denial, confusion, anger and loss of hope — bottled up and kept inside..But she's never given up on finding her little boy, now a man.."As I've said to the media many times, I understand the absurdity of a grey-haired woman still looking for her toddler," McKee said.."But as a mother, losing a child never goes away. You never stop wondering. Which is why I am putting up posters almost 43 years later.".The Alberta RCMP is also seeking the public’s assistance in locating Jeffrey Dupres, 45, who may now be going by a different name..Dupres went missing from the Slave Lake area April 24, 1980..He went to play at a friend's house and was last seen in his front yard by his mother. He was wearing a long-sleeved beige T-shirt with brown trim, rust-coloured pants, and dark-brown orthopedic shoes..READ MORE: Alberta family searching for son who disappeared the year Reagan was elected president.Anna J. James is a private investigator in BC and took on Jeffrey's case. She works for Recover Agency, which is a media agency..James is charging McKee only 10% of the total fee for her work and is determined to find her vanished son. ."I'm grateful all of you have come together — some old and some new friends to find out what happened to Jeffrey, and this may be the year we do," McKee said..For McKee, Jeffrey's disappearance feels like yesterday. James said she has taken the case because she wants to provide some closure for the family.."I was working in Yellowknife as a crime reporter and I was doing some research on missing and murdered women, local women. And I came across Jeffrey's photo on a website," James told the Western Standard.."I was already kind of thinking of getting my private investigator licence. As it turns out, Jeffrey became my motivation.". Anna J James is working for almost nothing to find missing boyPI Anna J. James. She said she won't stop looking for Jeffrey. .James is now a private investigator under the supervision of two Canadian P.I. firms.."They oversee all my work now. So Denise kind of got me because she's my mom's age. They share the same name, Denise. And to her, (Jeffrey's) still her little kid and she'll never like stop looking for him and that struck me," James said.."For her, it feels like yesterday. So what I'm doing now is going through about, you know, the last 10 years of the Facebook community page reviewing all tips," James said.."We have, quite interestingly, a couple of men who have come forward and claim to be Jeffrey. I'm in the process of sending out DNA kits to them and working with two genealogists.".James' supervisor gave her the green light to share photos of "Clint" with the Western Standard."Clint reached out to our Facebook page in 2020 and claimed to be Jeffrey. He has since deleted his account. We've tried several methods to identify him: yearbook photos, reverse image search, Reddit, other P.I.s - to no avail.". This man claimed to be Jeffrey but disappeared"Clint" claimed to be Jeffrey and sent these photos with the tip to James but has since disappeared off social media. .James said she would like to speak with him. "Clint" sent a tip to James and claimed he was Jeffrey. It was shared exclusively with the Western Standard, but will not be included until "Clint" is contacted. .On April 24, 1980, Jeffrey was near the front of his house, playing with a neighbour when his mom Denise went inside to switch over the laundry.."She was gone about 20 minutes. It seemed Jeffrey went over to his neighbour's house. When she came out, he was gone," James said..This was a pivotal time in Slave Lake history because there were wildfires, James noted.."They were right there, the whole town, and so there was very limited police and law enforcement around because they were designated for fires so the investigation was stalled," James said."I've been working with the original lead investigator on the case. He's now retired, but I've been calling him to verify a few things. And basically, there was a person who saw him being coaxed into a blue Chevy or GMC truck by a young couple, a young couple in their mid-20s, 30s.".The description offered at the time was a blue truck picked the young boy up, the man driving had red hair and the woman had brunette hair and was attractive.."That tip came from a brother and sister down the road in a trailer park.".James is currently in the process of re-interviewing the original witnesses and one of them was a lady named Alice. Alice was the next-door neighbour two doors down and her daughter saw Jeffrey at one point run across the road and then Denise ran across bringing him back that morning.."So my theory is that Jeffrey was taken a bit further down the road," James said.."Because of the fires, there was a lot of noise and there were a lot of planes in the sky. So he may have kind of like looked off and kind of like toggled towards the trailer park where he was ultimately taken.".James said the family believes it's important to say "taken" as the family considers his case an abduction.."To say that he went missing is not accurate," James said.."It was a crime of opportunity — he was taken. I do believe he could be still out there.".As James works the case she said she's determined to investigate all leads and tips.."Even if we can't find Jeffrey, I will do everything in my power to let Denise know we tried everything," James said.."I want her to know I truly did everything and I left no stone unturned. And I think that's the real gift of an investigation like this cold case investigation.".To submit tips on this case visit https://recoveragency.com/
