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| Just, Jake 10/30/98; Midland, ONT | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 23 2008, 03:13 PM (367 Views) | |
| tatertot | Nov 23 2008, 03:13 PM Post #1 |
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http://www.midlandfreepress.com/ArticleDis....aspx?e=1276399 10 YEARS AFTER Ten years warrants review and reassessment of the Jake Just case, say investigators Posted By SHARON WEATHERALL Posted 23 days ago Modern technology may lead to a break in a 10-year-old missing person case that has police stumped. Police are taking a new approach to the investigation which has turned up absolutely no evidence and been categorized as a cold case'. The decade-old Jake Just investigation is now under the microscope of modern technology to try and find leads which may have slipped through the cracks in 1998. Today marks 10 years since the Midland teen was re-ported missing. Hhe left home on Devil's Night with his friends for a party and never returned home. ORIGINAL INVESTIGATIVE TEAM REGROUPS "The investigative team met some time ago with OPP and has revisited a lot of area - mostly the whole search. This includes specialized search teams that came on board in the first days after Jake was reported missing that organized and carried out intensive searches," said Midland Police Services Det.-Sgt. Jim Rettinger, explaining the initial report was made on Saturday Halloween Day and canines were out tracking the next day. "That Tuesday morning OPP detective Don Webster was brought in as the original search master and he is now back working on the return search. We are lucky he was still around and able to be involved in this. This case is something that has bothered him for a long time and something he feels he can't leave." AN EIGHT-DAY SEARCH TURNS UP NO CLUES Rettinger said the original searches involved intensive land and water searches from scouring the bush areas of Sunny Side where Jake was last seen to OPP divers in the cold flood plain reservoirs and the waters of Georgian Bay around the future condominium construction sites of the Tiffin grain elevators. Approximately 200 people were interviewed and kids handed out brochures and posters, while volunteer, neighbours and friends searched the outlying perimeters of the police search zone. Inside the yellow tapes cadaver and live search canines sniffed their way through every possible area they could access. Above aerial searches commencing with locals and followed by police turned up nothing. There was no discard evidence linking Jake Just to the area - no knap sack, coat, shirt or even cigarette butts. Three years later another review and search related to the case turned up nothing. CHALLENGING TERRAIN AND COLD DOMINATE SEARCH Rettinger says in looking at data from the original search it is difficult to get the big picture because there were several searches done on different days over difficult terrain. "The search area was a nasty stretch of geography which posed significant challenges even to the professionals. There were questions about the marshy areas - was it all searched? An aerial search was done resulting in a high probability negative. Even if the high probability is 90 - 95 percent there is never a 100 percent probability. The percentage is based on the intensity of the search," said Rettinger. "At ground level, while searching for footprints and broken brush, they would have found something. There were areas they could not get into that received an aerial search flyover. It is difficult to look and see everything on the information from original searches. We will put it all together into one document and if we see find anything worthwhile doing over again or looking at again, and then we will re-assess that part of the investigation. The review may also show that certain areas have been exhausted and there is nothing more we can do." At the time, Rettinger says fire, police and every resource available was used followed by searches by neighbours and friends over the same ground until the snow came. The area was marked with tape using a grid pattern on the trees so that no areas were missed. "What we are doing is a review of those searches -- using the stuff on those maps and documents and inputting all of this information into computer programs that were not available in 1998. At that time all the maps were used from engineering department at the Town of Midland during the intense eight day search," he said. "Paper-based searches of ten years ago have gone to computer technology today. Inspector Bernie Murphy is the fourth case manager on the case in 10 years. He was not involved and knew nothing of the case but has been a new set of eyes from day one. He has been asking all the questions which have brought a new prospective to the case." Inspector Murphy said a case with 10 years of records has to be in order and there have been "really good records kept." Taking on the case two years ago, Murphy developed an avid interest and was firm in his belief that it was important for police to maintain a level of continuity in the investigation for Debbie Just and the community. "It is important that people know we have not stopped investigating this case. If people call in with something it will be acted on. There is still a $50,000 OPP reward for information on Jake Just. It is important to note that we follow up on every call - it is never a wasted effort for people to call in," said Murphy. "Midland has a size advantage in that it is a small community and has not been overwhelmed with another story - people remember this one." CASE OF INTEREST TO THE OPP Murphy believes that modern technology may help police find any areas that may have been missed or need further investigating. "This is a pretty unique case and in talking to other OPP about similar incidents, it is one of only two or three in Ontario with similar characteristics which have undergone this comprehensive of an investigation with an absolutely lack of evidence you don't see in a case - there is always something. The whole idea of someone disappearing off the face of the earth is an unreal concept," said Murphy. Reviewing the search areas will allow police to re-assess investigative strategies, says Murphy, who called the original search master, Don Webster, to assist in the process. "After the map and a headquarters review, we will determine if anything requires a re-investigation and strike when the iron is hot' using new technology. We will be using new technology that couldn't be used back then." Murphy, who believes it is possible to solve the mystery, says OPP took on the case management of the investigation in 1999 but Sgt. Jim Rettinger of Midland Police Service is still actively involved continuing to work together with OPP. REVIEW OF CASE BRINGS NEW HOPE FOR JUST FAMILY Debbie Just says the recent news that Jake's case is being revisited by police was "exciting and very timely." "It is exciting for me to know they can keep track of all that information and mapping. If they can collaborate and find that maybe a spot or section was possibly missed..... If they can use modern technology to find Jake it may not be what I want to hear but at least his sisters and I will have closure" said Just. "Everyone that has been involved has given it so much energy and everyone that becomes involved brings their own expertise and perspective to put into the case. Some good things have come out of this including my constant connection with the police and media which always has that empathy and been right there for me helping in any way they can. Even if Jake helps to solve other cases though the work they do that is a good thing. My biggest fear is that the community will give up hope. I am counting on the community to help me find Jake - remembering little things and telling the police or Crime Stoppers will help." To the anxious mother and family members, 10 years in some respect has been a lifetime considering the despair and agony they have suffered wondering what has happened to Jake but when it comes to hope it might have happened yesterday - the details are as fresh today for the distraught mother as they were Halloween Day 10 years ago. "Not knowing" has taken a serious toll on the family and this past summer, when Jake's father Walter passed away of a heart attack, it was devastating for his sisters and the entire family. Tragically, Walter died not knowing where his son was. "Walter's death was hard on the girls. He missed Jake terribly and was frustrated and deeply saddened that Jake could not be found," said Just. On a more positive note, Debbie Just has watched her immediate family grow through marriage this summer. She recently made some serious decisions in her own life involving the sale of the current family home and plans to relocate to a new home not far from Midland. While Just is taking a few steps forward she is definitely not closing the door. "For me, I think this change is positive. It is time for me to move on but I will never give up hope. Not a day goes by that I don't think about Jake and all of my children but I have decided to move from here - this is just a house and it has memories but it doesn't have people. My girls have moved on. I know Jake would want me to do this -he always wanted me to do what I had to do and encouraged me to do it," said Just. TIPS AND FAST ACTION CAN HELP SOLVE CRIME Rettinger said the Jake Just case was taken seriously from the start and it is not true that a person has to be missing for a certain length of time before the police can be called in. "If there is reasonable concern or suspicion, you can call. When Debbie Just called at 8 p. m. on Saturday Oct. 31, we were talking to the Steve Hayes --the last person to see Jake before he disappeared, by 10:30 p. m. the same night. That's where the ball started rolling. It was too dangerous to go out at night but the search was coordinated for sunrise taking into consideration such factors as the cold, exposure and Jake's possible head injury," said Rettinger. Crime Stoppers is an excellent way to contact police and remain anonymous if people have something to say. Rettinger says the most active time for calls on the Jake Just case remains to be around the anniversary date and that is why it's so important for media to continue reporting the story and keeping people aware. "When people look back they remember things different -- those details that pop back into mind are important. We get a lot of calls to police and Crime Stoppers around this time. Sometimes it is repeat information and sometimes it may be a tiny piece of the puzzle, but eventually we will get enough of those pieces to put together," said Rettinger, indicating the Midland missing person case is the biggest investigation he has worked on and he would like to see it through. "Living in a small community changes the way people look at an investigation and how police deal with missing person cases. Jake was a catalyst - we never had a missing person we didn't find. In the past each officer was responsible for following their own investigation but now everyone is. When an officer is done for two or three days another takes over. It is important to be there and get all the information." |
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| mimi | Oct 27 2010, 06:56 PM Post #2 |
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http://www.midlandfreepress.com/ArticleDis....aspx?e=2818328 NewsHome Local News News Jake missing for 12 years, police take any clue seriously Jake missing for 12 years, police take any clue seriously News By SHARON WEATHERALL Posted 12 hours ago The four worst days of the year are now approaching for a Midland mother whose son has been missing for 12 years. For two days before Halloween and two days after Debbie Just relives every detail of the fateful event that changed her life forever -the night eighteen year old Jake left home to attend a local party and was never seen again. "I spend most of the month of October going over and over the scenario in my mind. It is a very hard time for me that doesn't get easier as the years pass," said Just who finds the current Russell trial media coverage especially hard. "We can't be complacent because we are a small town -things can happen just like they did in Tweed. There are sick people and predators out there. When I hear things like that I begin to think about what might have happened to Jake... if he was hurt or being tortured, was he crying out for us? You just think the worst because you don't know. I talk to Jake all the time and ask him please to somehow let us know where he is but twelve years have gone by and we still don't know what happened." Because Jake can't communicate with his mother through human means doesn't mean he isn't trying to get a message to her in other ways. In fact, Just is very sure her son is trying to reach her but in a way that she herself is unable to connect. While it would be difficult to refer to any missing person case as being normal', the disappearance of Jake Just has been shadowed by bizarre events beginning with his departure from a party at Sunnyside in Midland shortly before midnight on Devil's Night'. Branching off from a friend he had been walking with, Jake entered a bush area to take a short cut home and was never seen again. In the days to follow police interviewed some 400 people and scoured the area inch by inch to no avail -it was as if the popular teen had vanished into thin air leaving no shred of evidence -footprints, clothing or even a tiny piece of forensic evidence to assist the investigation. Although family, friends, police and local media continue to carry out an annual public awareness campaign, the case has gone cold and has remains that way...as far as material leads are concerned. Shortly after her son's disappearance Debbie Just began getting phone calls from psychics delivering various accounts of what happened and stories of communication with Jake from the other side'. To this day the calls continue to come from all over Ontario including eastern Canada -the most recent was last month. Some of the psychics saw Jake murdered and buried in the woods, while others said he was taken far away, killed and dumped into a bog. One psychic said Jake saw something he shouldn't have and his death was mafia related, while another said the teen was alive with amnesia and doesn't remember anything about his former life. Initially the desperate mother listened to them all not wanting to dismiss details about anything or anyone that might lead her to the whereabouts of her son but now she encourages all psychic contacts to communicate with the police. While Just appreciates the information and good intent behind such communications, she says she can no longer listen to stories which always end badly causing her heartache and pain. "It's not that I don't believe in it -I do think these thoughts and images are coming to the psychics for a reason. Maybe one of them will know some information that leads to something but the things they were telling me does not help -it gets me upset and thinking and there is nothing I can do...," said Just. "The police know about the psychics and are working with them. This is more helpful because the police know everything about the case, the location and the details of the investigation. They want to do whatever it takes to solve the case but will screen the information and tell me what I need to hear." In 1998 the investigation began with Midland Police Service (MPS) and was taken over by OPP. Currently MPS -Sgt. Jim Rettinger, OPP Detective Inspector Bernie Murphy and OPP Case File coordinator Virginia Wyatt, are working together in the continuing investigation of the disappearance of Jake Just. Having been involved since the beginning, Rettinger keeps in constant contact with Debbie Just and meets with the press each year around the anniversary date to ensure ongoing public awareness. Rettinger says when it comes to solving an investigation, all possible leads are followed including 10 -12 psychic related calls surrounding the disappearance of Jake Just. Advertisement "Different people claim to have different psychic abilities and their abilities are manifested by different means -gut feelings, visions, dreams, apparitions, Jake speaks' to them, etc. In each case we interviewed the psychics and decided whether any information' provided was relevant to what we already had determined in our investigation or assisted us in any way," said Rettinger. "I specifically recall one woman, I believe from the Mississauga area, who claimed she saw through Jake's eyes'. Although she had never been to Midland, she pictured Jake looking and described specific landmarks, obviously unaware of their location. She had the added advantage that her husband was an artist. As a result, he took her visions' and produced water colour paintings of them which she provided to police. This same woman also experienced feelings' about people and places and would react if she felt' something. In this case we conducted ground searches in areas we felt were as described." In another instance, after being contacted by a woman from Toronto who could only "see" as the "eyes" of a deceased person, Rettinger said police used cadaver dogs to search the area the woman -who had never been to Midland, described and where she said she saw Jake. "As a profession I would surmise that most police consider people who allege to have psychic abilities' as suspect. I said from day one that I didn't care by what means I found Jake, only that I intended to do so. I still feel that way today. I'm not too proud as to disregard any information that will provide resolution for Debbie Just and her family in this investigation," said Rettinger assuring that public awareness remains key in solving this case. "This is the 12th anniversary since Jake went missing and the first year that we have not had any new tips or been called and given information. Over the years we got calls and information which may have been generally the same year after year but sometimes had an extra little piece that was different or new. I believe there is still some key information out there that will come forth at some point." Rettinger says local people have not forgotten Jake, especially those in the Sunnyside where he was last seen. Following an in-depth assessment in 2008 using new technology to input all original mapping and search data on software, police are confident it met criteria and no areas in the search grid were left to question. In the past there was a 95% probability that every area searched turned up any items or articles pertaining to the case. Today, the scene has changed very little for those who were involved twelve years ago - the changing leaves and cool temperatures bring back vivid memories of the relentless eight day search through woods and wet marsh for the teen who would now be 30 years of age. Due to recent building excavations around the Bay Port Yacht Centre and Sunnyside, Rettinger said search masters revisited the site last year and provided information to developers to make them aware if any bones or clothing are found. "Obviously people think about it still -we had calls twice last year involving the discovery of bones but they were not human -they were deer," said Rettinger. In May 2010 MPS have submitted property they had for DNA testing to OPP Missing Person Cases DNA Bank where under the umbrella of the Unsolved Homicide Investigation Team' (UHIT) it will be kept until needed for case re-activation. It is important to note that this is still a classified as a Missing Person case and not a homicide. Rettinger said these items belonging to Jake and his deceased father Walter Just, were kept at the MPS for DNA testing for historical development if evidence was located that has DNA so there would be comparison samples. Rettinger said a DNA comparison would confirm identification if Jakes remains were found and the remains would help to determine cause of death under the Coroner s Act of the Police Investigation. The Jake Just case is not isolated. From 1963 -2010 there are 78 unsolved investigations in Ontario, regarding missing or deceased persons. In some cases police look into similarities if there appears to be a tie. The OPP Criminal Investigation Branch needs public assistance in solving investigations -without it many of these cases will continue to be unresolved. Resolving these cases gives closure, ensures that justice is done and prevents future violent crimes from happening. In North Simcoe Debbie Just keeps a flame burning in her heart for her son and refuses to give up hope until she has closure one way or another. Through memories he remains close. "In speaking to people they say Jake was a good guy. He was a big boy of 6'3" and took karate from the time he was five years old, but while he could defend himself he was not a fighter -he was happy and had a lot of friends. He loved snowboarding, skateboarding and had two guitars which he spent all of his free time learning to play. He had just gotten his driver's license and was excited to start driving," said Just. In addition to intensive searches and ongoing police efforts, this investigation has garnered nation-wide media attention being profiled on CTV's Canada AM and Court TV's "Crime Files: Cold Case" programs. No reliable information has as yet been obtained that tells police what happened to Jake Just. Anyone with information should call the South Georgian Bay OPP Detachment 1-888-310- 1122, Midland Police Service (705) 526-2201 or Crimestoppers (705)726-2237 or crimestoppersofs. d.m@csolve.net. |
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| tatertot | Jul 31 2017, 02:52 PM Post #3 |
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https://www.simcoe.com/news-story/7410677-c...ithout-a-trace/ COLD CASE: Midland’s Jake Just still missing without a trace NEWS Jul 30, 2017 06:00 by Rick Vanderlinde Midland Mirror The caller said he knew where her son was. “Meet me at the church,” the voice at the other end of the line said. Wearing a wire, with police hidden nearby waiting to pounce, Debbie Just met with the anonymous caller. “I was really nervous, but as a mom, I just thought I’m gonna do whatever it takes to find my son,” she said. Like so many other possible leads into her son Jake’s mysterious disappearance 19 years ago, it turned out to be nothing. A young man simply told her, “Your son is with God.” It wasn’t the only disturbing call she’d received over the years that raised her hopes only to see them dashed. “People would just phone me up and tell me things. It was hard to deal with. For someone to phone and say, “Your son’s in a freezer in Sunnyside. He’s in the process of dying, but if you can get to him by morning …” Just recorded every call and police followed up on every lead no matter how trivial or bizarre, but still nothing. There’s not a trace of Jake Just after several ground searches and hundreds of police interviews since Oct. 30, 1998. For Staff Sgt. Jim Rettinger, who took the missing person’s call from Debbie on Oct. 31, 1998, the frustration is palpable. “There’s nothing substantial that we are working on now,” the veteran Midland police officer said. “We’re not any closer than we were in 1998 to be totally honest.” Initially, the investigation centred around the last place Jake was seen — an often used shortcut through the Sunnyside woods in Midland. Jake had been partying with friends that night, drinking beers and horsing around by breaking bottles over their heads. When he and a friend decided to walk home, Jake opted to take the darkened trail through the bush alone. He was never seen again. Hampered by a possible head injury and under the influence of alcohol, did he lose his way and stumble into a boggy swamp, where he was swallowed up by so-called quicksand? After an eight-day initial search and others since, Rettinger doesn’t think so. “He was carrying a backpack and we’ve not recovered articles in that area,” he said. “It’s doubtful that a person who was struggling in ‘quicksand’ would leave an article on. Kind of unlikely, not impossible, but kind of unlikely.” The problem for investigators has always been, now what? If Jake made it out of the woods, where could he possibly have gone? “The world becomes your oyster if you get outside the perimeter of that search area,” Rettinger said. “Once your perimeter is gone it becomes the world. I mean, he could be anywhere.” Theories abound — some of them floated by psychic mediums hoping to help solve the case. One medium told Just her son made it out of the woods only to be struck dead by a car on the street, scooped up by the panicked drunk driver and whisked away. Just, desperate for any clues, listened to the self-proclaimed psychics. “Almost immediately one of the women grabbed my arm and said, “You know he’s dead.” “I was not prepared for that. Of course that is in the back of your mind but for someone just to say that.” In the end, psychics uncovered nothing solid, no credible leads for police to pursue. “I haven’t found they can truly solve or help,” Just said. Rettinger said police considered what the psychics told them just like any of the tips they receive. “I don’t really care how we solve it, we just want to solve it,” he said. In recent years, police have received more calls from people with theories than tips. One such theory has Jake deciding to follow a hydro corridor through the woods to the area of a Midland strip club, where he may have been abducted by unsavory characters. Again, police have no evidence, no witnesses, that suggest Jake was anywhere near that area. And his mother believes her 170-pound, six-foot-two son could take care of himself in an altercation, especially since had been studying karate since he was a child. Just remembers when Jake used his martial arts skills to subdue attackers on two occasions, both in self-defence. “One guy ripped out chunks of Jake’s hair, smashed Jake’s nose. People said Jake tried to block him and he finally just had to beat him up.” Police questioned both of the boys Jake fought, but nothing led officers to believe they were involved in his disappearance. Jake was not a tough guy, his mother says. He was a kid with a big heart, who took in stray animals, loved to sing and play guitar and had many friends. “He had an insight, this mature thing about him,” she said. “He knew all kinds of people, all different ages — he didn’t care, he was just friends with everybody.” Before he vanished, he was a young man on the cusp of a promising future, getting ready to go to college. “As a mom you think by the time they are almost 19, you’re good. You’ve got them over anything major, they’re going to be OK,” Just said. “I thought he’s made it and he just disappeared. It doesn’t seem even real when I’m talking about it. I have to think you did have a son, he did exist because it’s been so long since I hugged him and heard his voice.” She picks up a ski-pass photo of her son, the one he got just before he went missing. She keeps it on her bedside table so she can say good night to him every night — a ritual she’s carried on for all these years. Her greatest wish is to know what happened to her boy before she dies. “Some day people aren’t going to remember anymore. Then what?” If anyone has any information about the disappearance of Jake Just, call Midland Police at 705-526-2201 or Crime Stoppers 1-800-222-8477. |
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3:21 AM Jul 11