Thirty years into one of Canada’s longest-running missing person’s case, police and the parents of a missing Victoria boy hope a new sketch may provide a vital clue to bring him home..“We need to know where he is and what happened,” said mom Crystal Dunahee..Four-year-old Michael Dunahee — who was dressed in a blue hoodie, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles T-shirt, rugby pants, and blue sneakers — went missing about noon, March 24, 1991, near the Blanshard Elementary school in BC’s capital city..His mom, who was participating in a female flag football practice while hubby watched, had given Michael permission to play in the nearby playground and to wait there for his dad, Bruce..“Stay there and wait for daddy to come,” she said, unaware those would be the last words she spoke to her boy..Michael left his mother to join other children and was only a short distance away from his family when he vanished, never to be seen again..After a frantic search by at least 50 people that day, police were quickly brought in..“When Michael first disappeared (police) asked us what route we wanted to take,” recalled his mother at a recent news conference..“We chose the route to make it as public as possible to get it out there that Michael disappeared.”.Michael vanished so quickly from a public place, the police quickly classified his case as an abduction rather than a missing child case, and all the detectives in the VPD were called in to begin the investigation..Hundreds of tips began coming in every hour from across British Columbia and North America, and at the time they were all written on carbon paper and had to be sorted manually..Police have said they believe if they’d the same technology available today, such as video surveillance, DNA techniques, and a computer system to sort tips, they may have been able to solve the case..Michael’s disappearance spawned one of the largest police investigations in Canadian history and more than 11,000 tips poured in, including some that led to DNA testing of two adult males..Victoria police directed all its resources into Michael’s case, with detectives looking through leads, investigating known sex offenders, and interviewing anyone who had been in the area around the time of the abduction..They were unable to uncover much information, other than a witness report that a man in his late 40s or early 50s had been near the playground, and that a brown van had also been spotted nearby..A month after Michael vanished, police staged a re-creation of his disappearance at Blanshard Elementary, which included using a brown van, but the tactic was unable to produce any new leads..Reports of a young man who looked like Michael, and who had been living in British Columbia since 1991, surfaced in 2006 and breathed new life into the case..Sadly, nothing came from the leads, and, after DNA testing was done, it was determined the man was not Michael..In early 2009 U.S. police found a missing person poster of Dunahee in the Milwaukee, WI home of one Vernon Seitz..Seitz, 62, confessed to his psychiatrist that he had killed a child in 1959, at the age of 12, and knew of another child killing..Seitz was later found dead by Milwaukee police, apparently of natural causes..In 2011, with the 20th anniversary of Michael’s disappearance approaching, police were notified of a man living in Chase, B.C., who looked like Michael Dunahee. DNA testing later determined that he too was not Michael..Two years later in 2013, another possible break came to light when a man with the username Canuckels posted on the message boards of canucks.com, the official website of the Vancouver Canucks hockey team, that police were coming for a DNA test..They’d requested a blood sample from a Surrey, B.C. man who they believed could potentially be the missing boy..Police later stated that DNA testing had determined the man was not Michael..Despite the extraordinary number of tips and a $100,000 reward, police still do not have any solid leads in the case..Now, in a last-ditch effort to locate the missing boy, Victoria Police released an age-enhanced sketch of Michael late last month on March 24, exactly 30 years to the day the boy vanished.. Screen-Shot-2021-04-02-at-5.02.30-PMWhat Michael Dunahee may look like. Courtesy VPD .Police said the sketch is based on extensive work with the Dunahee family and investigators and brings together family history, forensic science and artistic skill..“It shows what Michael may look like today at age 34,” said Victoria police Chief Del Manak, who added Victoria PD partnered with BC RCMP to lend more eyes and ears to the investigation..“Anything we can do to use technology to our advantage — we will never give up hope.”.It’s hoped the new sketch will present new leads in what has become one of the country’s largest missing persons investigation..Michael’s dad said it was strange looking at the image his adult son..“The last time I saw him, he was four, four-and-a-half,” Bruce said..Added Crystal: “If anyone knows anything, any piece of information that can help us find closure, bring Michael back to us — that’s all we’re asking..“You’ve taken away 30 years and we need to know where he is, what happened.”.Police say they’re still committed to the case and ask anyone with information to submit their tips to the dedicated Michael Dunahee tip line at 250-995-7444..Mike D’Amour is a former investigative reporter for Sun Media, and the Western Standard’s B.C. bureau chief.mdamour@westernstandardonline.com
