MISSING: Pamela Harvey (1978) - Sudbury, ON
By S.M.Published July 19, 2020Published on IG: May 2, 2020The Disappearance of Pamela Harvey (née Rosseau)
Pamela Harvey was born and raised in McKellar, Ontario – a small town of about 400, just outside of Parry Sound. In her late teens, she moved to Chilliwack, British Columbia, in search of a freer lifestyle. She soon became pregnant and married, but the relationship didn’t last long. Within a year, she legally separated from her husband, with whom she had cut all ties. She moved back to Ontario with her son, Ricky, in 1977.
Nobody knows why she chose to move to Sudbury. It’s possible she met someone while working as a waitress, or through someone in her social circle. Maybe she wanted a fresh start. Pamela and Ricky moved into a one-bedroom apartment on Lloyd Street, and she found work as a part-time waitress at the Kingsway Hotel – a bar, restaurant and popular hangout for the Coffin Wheelers motorcycle gang.
She soon began a relationship with one of its members, Leonard Daoust. Pamela was 23 years old.
November 12, 1978
On November 12, 1978, a man named James Dacey was shot and killed on a hill directly across the street from the Kingsway Hotel. A witness who lived in the apartment beside the scene said they saw a getaway vehicle next to the building, parked in what’s now called the Columbus Tot Lot. Dacey’s body was discovered by one of his friends that night, who then called an ambulance from the Kingsway Hotel. Soon after, Leonard Daoust and a man named Rene Ranger were arrested for the murder of James Dacey.
Four days after the murder, Pamela left 4-year-old Ricky at a neighbour’s house and disappeared.
Police refused to take the report of Pamela’s disappearance seriously. They assumed she had taken off to avoid Leonard’s trial and would show up when it was over.
While the August 9, 1975 disappearance of 20-year-old Laurentian student Jane Smith had attracted local media attention, there was little coverage of Pamela’s case.
Image: Canada Unsolved
What happened to Pamela Harvey?
At Leonard Daoust’s trial in 1979, a woman named Wendy said she had been drinking with Pamela, Leonard and another friend on the night of the murder. She said she left and returned with a friend, but Pamela appeared nervous and wouldn’t let them inside.
Did Pamela know about the plan? Had she witnessed the murder? Did a member of the Coffin Wheelers assume Pamela was a risk simply due to her association with Daoust, or did she leave because she was scared?
Regardless of what she might have known, her family does not believe she would have abandoned Ricky – and the circumstances of his arrival at the neighbour’s only adds further suspicion to her disappearance.
Theories
According to Sarah May, who wrote about the case in her book Unsolved Sudbury, there are three scenarios.
Wendy told the Harvey family that Pamela left Ricky in her care overnight, and when she didn’t return the next day, she gave Ricky to the neighbour – a man named Mel or Milford. However, Milford told the family that it was Pamela who had arranged for Ricky to stay with him for two weeks. Then, Milford changed his story, and said Pam had only left a note asking him to watch Ricky for two weeks. The family never saw a note.
If Pamela disappeared from her home on Lloyd Street, why would the stories about Ricky vary? What happened in those four days between James Dacey’s murder and Pamela’s disappearance?
In the 1990s, Pamela’s family hired a private investigator who claimed to have located her in Thunder Bay. However, when her sister went to the house, the woman who lived there said she had never heard of Pamela Harvey.
Pamela Harvey left her cigarettes, purse and all her belongings behind. Her family remembers her as a “gentle dreamer” who would have never left her son. In the 41 years since she disappeared, Pamela’s bank account has shown no activity, and there have been no answers to the questions that remain for those who love her.
Physical Characteristics:
Pamela Harvey - Investigating Agencies:
If you have any information about Pamela Harvey (Rousseau), please contact CRIME STOPPERS at:
705-222-TIPS (8477) or www.sudburycrimestoppers.com.
You will remain anonymous & will not have to testify in court.
See something, hear something, do something.
See more Sudbury cases on Canada Unsolved: Where the Road Ends: The Murder of Renée Sweeney
* The RCMP profile for Pamela Harvey Rosseau states she has been missing since December 18, 1978. Her profile on Sudbury Crime Stoppers states she has been missing since December 1, 1978.