* 2022 UPDATE * MISSING: Jeffrey Dupres - 04/24/80 - Slave Lake, Alberta

May 27, 2020 SM

By S.M.  Published May 27, 2020 
UPDATE: Nov. 7, 2022

NEW SKETCH OF JEFFREY DUPRES, AGE 45 (DEC. 14, 2022)

The last photo of Jeffrey Dupres and his mom. Photo: Facebook Group - What Happened to Jeffrey Dupres?

Jeffrey Dupres

Age at Disappearance: 3

Slave Lake, Alberta, Canada

Classification: Non-Family Abduction

UPDATE (NOV. 7, 2022): Jeffrey’s mother has launched a GoFundMe to raise money for a private investigator to re-examine the theories in his case, set up a tip line, create updated age-progression sketches, and take other critical steps to solve Jeffrey’s case. Historic missing persons cases are notoriously underfunded. Please share and consider donating to help find Jeffrey.

UPDATE (DEC. 14, 2022): A NEW SKETCH, TIP LINE AND REWARD ARE NOW AVAILABLE.

DECEMBER 14, 2022:

This time every year Denise McKee is wishing for one thing: closure. It’s been more than 42 years since her son, 3-year-old Jeffrey Dupres vanished from their yard in Slave Lake, Alberta, in 1980.

“Jeffrey was a bright and energetic toddler who loved his new tricycle and was thrilled with his first best friend. And then he just disappeared,” said McKee.

In time for Christmas, McKee has launched a Canada-wide campaign to promote a new age progression sketch, tip line, and reward to breathe life into one of Canada's oldest missing children cases.

"I understand the absurdity of a grey-haired woman still looking for her child,” said McKee, who turned 68 this year. “But the reality is he was never found, and until then, we will leave no stone unturned.”

In November, McKee launched a GoFundMe campaign with the goal of $20,000 to revitalise the case. Using a portion of the donations, McKee commissioned an updated age progression sketch by UK-based Forensic Artist, Tim Widden to show how Jeffrey would like today, age 45.

“Age progressions are a great tool for drawing public attention to a case that has run cold. Without active leads from existing witnesses or physical evidence, they are often a last chance to appeal for new information from the public,” said Widden.

“Whilst the aim is to create an accurate image of the missing person that someone will recognise, there is value in simply getting the person's name and story back out there.”

Through the ‘What Happened to Jeffrey Dupres?’ Facebook page, over 50 volunteers have agreed to distribute posters across Canada with the new sketch and tip line in time over the holiday season.

“All these people have responded to help, which is exactly what happened the day Jeffrey disappeared,” said McKee.“I’m overwhelmed by the goodness of people, such a contrast to the continued horror of the situation.

McKee believes new technology and social media may prompt tips and lead to some answers.

“We don't know where Jeffrey is. He could be anywhere in Canada or the US, in fact anywhere in the world. The more people who can see his image the better chance we have of finding out what happened,” said McKee.

“With the community’s support and using the knowledge and resources available today, maybe we can finally solve the mystery: What happened to Jeffrey Dupres?”

Tips can be sent to Slave Lake RCMP by calling 780-849-399. Additionally, an independant tip line has been set up by Recover Agency offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to Jeffrey’s whereabouts.

FULL CASE BELOW:

In late spring of 1980, Slave Lake was burning.

In one day, the wildfires just outside the small town in Alberta would take the life of a water bomber pilot, the efforts of over 125 RCMP officers, and destroy the innocence of a boy, his family and an entire community.

Jeffrey Dupres was determined, talkative and loved racing his bike up and down the street outside the family home on the outskirts of Slave Lake. At just 3 years old, his mother, Denise, said he “already knew who he was.” Jeffrey also had a kind heart. In newspaper reports from 1980, his mother told the story of how Jeffrey had seen a neighbour kill a moose. At lunch, Jeffrey said he didn’t want to eat meat anymore. When she asked why, he said he didn’t want to “make animals dead.”

Jeffrey, above all, loved being with his mother and playing with the other kids in the neighbourhood.

One of Jeffrey’s good friends was 5-year-old Rodney, who lived next door.

On April 24, 1980, just before 1 p.m., Jeffrey and Denise were outside their home. Jeffrey said he was going to play with Rodney, so Denise decided to go inside and transfer a load of laundry from the washing machine to the dryer. The window was open, and a few minutes later, she heard Rodney’s dad call out for him to come inside.

When Denise looked out the window and saw neither boy, she assumed Jeffrey had gone inside with Rodney. 20 minutes later, Rodney showed up at the door, asking for Jeffrey.

Denise’s search for her son began at that moment and has never stopped. At 1:45, she called police. They told her they were busy and to look for Jeff with some neighbours. She did. At 2:20, in a panic, she called again. It took police over an hour to get to the house.

News of Jeffrey’s disappearance spread fast. Within a few hours, hundreds of volunteers from the Slave Lake community had shown up to search for Jeffrey.

Jeffrey’s father, Ray - who had been away on business in High Prairie - had come home. At 3 a.m., Ray crashed for an hour.

Denise searched into the night.

At 7 a.m., on April 25, the official search for Jeffrey Dupres resumed.

That morning, 200 high school students and their teachers came out to help. Local stores locked their doors. By noon, some areas had been searched 3 to 4 times. That afternoon, residents formed an arm’s length chain a mile long (Edmonton Journal, 1985). When darkness fell, the search extended to some roads 64 km out of town.

One man reportedly quit his job when he was told he wouldn’t be granted time off to help.

Denise pleaded with law enforcement to recruit members of the Armed Forces Search and Rescue in the search for Jeffrey. Her cries were ignored; they didn’t show up for nearly a week.

By then, a witness had come forward.

Investigators flew the witness and their two children to Edmonton, where they were hypnotized.

The woman who kidnapped Jeffrey Dupres was described as an “attractive female in her mid-20s," approximately 5’2” tall, 110 lbs with shoulder length brown hair. The truck was a 1978-80 custom painted Chevy/GMC short box pickup, with chrome bumpers and wheels. The driver was a male in his early 30s, clean-shaven with short reddish-blonde hair. Both abductors were “relatively small.” The woman was seen coaxing Jeffrey toward the truck. When Jeffrey got close, she grabbed him, and the truck sped away.

Who they were, and why they took Jeffrey, remains unknown 40 years later. They may have raised him as their own or sold him to someone who did.

Although a woman and her two children had witnessed Jeffrey’s abduction, in the summer of 1980, police accused Denise of murdering Jeffrey - without having the means or motive - and subjected her to a lie detector test.

In 1986, an investigator in Jeffrey’s disappearance said he had a “gut feeling” Jeffrey was alive. The same year, when the national missing children’s database was developed, Jeffrey’s case was compared to those of 100 other missing children. Investigators never found any “tell-tale” similarities.

It’s often said with unsolved cases that someone knows something, and in the abduction of Jeffrey Dupres, there is no alternative. The woman who kidnapped Jeffrey would likely now be in her 60s. The man would likely be in his 70s.

Jeffrey Dupres just turned 43 years old.

He now has two younger brothers, and a mother who still mourns her 3-year-old boy, waiting for answers.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS:

Jeffrey Dupres was last seen wearing a long sleeved beige T-shirt with a brown trim, rust-coloured pants, and dark brown orthopaedic shoes. He was 3" tall and 30 to 35 lbs with a fair complexion.

Jeffrey’s family is known to have bad eyesight and he may have the same; he would likely require glasses. He had flat feet at the time of his disappearance and was required to wear orthopaedic shoes to help correct the issue. His blood type is A positive (A+).

At the time of his disappearance, he had curly blonde hair, which may have since darkened to a more brown colour.
Jeffrey Dupres was born March 16, 1977.
Age-progressed images show Jeffrey at age 12 (c. 1989), at age 30 (c. 2007), and at age 34 (c. 2011).