In 1988, This Canadian Teen Ran Away And Flagged A Ride With A Stranger Following A Confrontation With Her Parents: She Was Never Seen Again, And Her Stepfather Believes She Was The Victim Of A Now-Convicted Serial Killer
In 1988, Amber Potts-Jaffary of Etobicoke, Canada, was just sixteen-years-old. And on November 25 of that year, she made a decision that many teens sometimes do: Amber opted to stay out all night to party with a group of friends.
The evening went smoothly, and she stayed safely in a motel room that evening. Then, the following morning of November 26, Amber’s mother, Christine Jaffary, and her stepfather, Don Pressey, got tipped off about her whereabouts by one of their daughter’s friends.
So, Don and Christine traveled to the motel where Amber had stayed– located in south Etobicoke– intending to have a difficult discussion with their daughter.
According to Don, as soon as the motel owner heard what had happened, the owner let both him and his wife go into Amber’s room.
And immediately after walking in, his daughter looked very embarrassed to have gotten caught.
“She reluctantly sat on one bed while her mother was on the other bed, just inches apart,” Don recalled in an interview with Toronto.com.
“And [Christine] rationally and calmly read Amber the riot act for thirty minutes. In the end, she said, ‘We want you with us, so if you want to come home, you’re welcome to come home. But this, what you’ve done [spending the night partying], is unacceptable.”
Amber ultimately agreed to go back home with her parents, where they lived on Rabbit Lane. This was music to their ears, and Don hoped that Amber and Christine would continue reconciling the situation over lunch.
Toronto Police Service; pictured above is Amber
Unfortunately, though, it soon became clear that their daughter had very different plans. As soon as Amber stepped one foot outside of the motel room door, she bolted. And being that she was so young and quick, Don was just too slow to keep up with her.
He and his wife did tail Amber for a while, pursuing her on foot all the way to Lake Shore Boulevard West while calling for her to stop. Within the blink of an eye, though, Don and Christine saw their daughter for the last time ever.
“She flagged down a passing car, he stopped and let her in, and they disappeared. I was standing one hundred and fifty yards back with Christine as we watched them go,” Don explained.
“There was nothing left for us to do but walk back, get our vehicle, and go home. We never saw her again.”
Both of Amber’s parents were reportedly sick to their stomachs with grief, and the Toronto Police launched an investigation into their daughter’s case forty-eight hours after she disappeared.
A sample of DNA was even taken from Christine just in case a body that matched Amber’s description was ever found and needed to be identified.
And if it was possible to add even more fear and confusion to the situation, Paul Bernardo– the Canadian serial killer– was still running loose in the Scarborough area at the time.
In fact, he reached his peak at the time Amber went missing before later being convicted in 1995 of first-degree murder in the deaths of two teenage girls– whom he kidnapped, tortured, and killed in the St. Catharines, Ontario area.
“Amber was never found, but I secretly believe she was a Bernardo victim. There were a number of girls, like about ten, that disappeared around that time and were never found. I believe she was one of them,” Don revealed.
Toronto Police Service; pictured above is another photo of Amber
So, Amber has remained missing for over thirty-four years. And in that time, her mother, Christine, and her biological father, Bob, never got any answers. Instead, Christine died of lung cancer in 2010, and Bob passed away four years later in 2014.
In turn, her stepfather, Don, has been left as Amber’s only remaining parent. And he has been diligent in pursuing justice, even if alone.
Since 2011, Don has remained in close contact with the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (CCCP) in hopes of raising awareness and making sure that Amber’s case stays at the forefront of the public’s mind.
He specifically corresponded with Jessica Huzyk, CCCP’s child safety, and family advocacy division program manager. And it was Jessia who, a few years ago, called Don to inform him that there might have been a break in the case. More specifically, law enforcement officers in the United States discovered the remains of a woman whom they believed matched Amber’s description and contacted Etobicoke officials.
“When Jessica told me they had found somebody in the States that might be Amber, I couldn’t help but ask, ‘Is she alive?’ But she wasn’t,” Don recalled.
Regardless, though, the unidentified woman did not end up being Amber after all. And Don has been left wondering what happened and if his stepdaughter is still alive. She would have celebrated her fiftieth birthday this past July 27.
“I still hold out hope that she is out there. Even today, if she appeared, I would take her back and see that she was happed and looked after, you know?” he said.
At the time of Amber’s disappearance, she was five foot eight, weighed one hundred and thirty pounds, and had brown hair and brown eyes.
If you have any information regarding Amber’s case, you are urged to contact the 22 Division youth bureau office at (416) 808-2205.
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