Lisa Petterson has never stopped looking for her dad, Don Petterson, who went missing 24 years ago.
“You wonder,” said Lisa, who lives in Merville. “That’s the hardest part.”
Today, Father’s Day, Lisa became the same age as her dad was when he went missing in 1996.
“He would not just vanish,” said Lisa.
On Sunday, the Petterson family put up a large sign in the Port Alberni park where Don was last seen alive in an effort to bring some sense of closure.
It was the morning of June 9, 1996, when Don suddenly vanished from Port Alberni.
According to his family, the 57-year-old had travelled to Port Alberni to check out some retirement properties in the area.
“He was gonna build his dream home . . . on a lake so that the grandkids could have that lifestyle,” Lisa said.
Don had booked viewings with real estate agents but never showed up. He was last spotted in Port Alberni’s Gyro Williamson Park.
“The last physical evidence that I have of my Dad being in Port Alberni is someone saw him in this park,” said Lisa. “He went and made a cash withdrawal of $300 from the cash machine and that was the last that was seen or heard of him.”
Don left behind a loving wife, children, and grandchildren who grew up never knowing what happened to the man they called “Pop.”
“You wonder what if he was still around today,” said Petterson’s grandson Cole Petterson. “How our lives would have been very different.”
“You only have one Daddy,” added Lisa. “That’s the hard part,” added Lisa.
Don Petterson would be 81-years-old today.
Anyone with information about his disappearance is asked to contact Port Alberni RCMP.
Skye Ryan
