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On Missing Children's Day -- still searching for Darlene and Jan by John Bkila Oakville Beaver Staff 3 | Thursday, May 28, 2015 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com Halton police recognized Monday (May 25) as Missing Children's Day and underlined it by once again highlighting the details surrounding the disappearance of 16-year-old Darlene Tucker of Oakville more than 30 years ago. Police continue to search for Tucker and last year, the case was highlighted by the Oakville Beaver , the officer who continues to investigate the cold case and Tucker's mother. "These particular cases remain with the officers who have dedicated their careers to assisting families that struggle with the uncertainty of what happened to their loved one on a day-to-day basis regardless of how much time has passed," said Det.-Sgt. John Mans, head of the Halton police Homicide and Missing Person Unit. "As technology and social media advances become more and more of our day-to-day tools, we are forever dedicated to applying them to these cold cases with the hope of making that final breakthrough or uncovering that key piece of information that will bring closure for these families." Tucker went missing on Valentine's Day 1983, after having fled her Lakeshore Road West home following an argument with her mother. Six months later, her friend Jinisina `Jan' Stonehouse also disappeared. The Beaver ran a feature on the cold cases in January 2014, which netted a tip but the lead failed to pan out after Halton police contacted two individuals and confirmed they were not the missing girls. "I am 100 per cent satisfied they are not the two people we are looking for," said Det. Const. Steve Martin, who inherited the case. According to the police file, Tucker, after discovering she was pregnant, moved in with her boyfriend in Oakville, but stayed only weeks because of conflict over a man she was seeing in Toronto. Martin said Tucker, who was in Grade 10 at the former General Wolfe High School on McCraney Street, left her boyfriend's home, but after a week with no word from her, was reported missing by her boyfriend's father. "There was some information that came from Tucker's mother that Tucker had contacted her through a payphone in Huntsville, (Ont.,) calling collect a couple of times. So, we knew she was alive and well at least a month afterwards," Martin told the Beaver. Darlene Tucker | courtesy missingkids.ca Jinisina `Jan' Stonehouse | courtesy Halton Regional Police Confirmed sightings continued to come in downtown Toronto in 1985 and the Haliburton area in 1987. Police define a confirmed sighting as an instance when someone who knows the missing person speaks to them. Tucker is described as white with hazel eyes and is 5-foot-3. At the time of her disappearance, she weighed 120 pounds and had dark brown, shoulder-length hair. She has a one-inch scar on her right knee and a one-inch scar just above her right eyebrow. Tucker also had a prominent gap between her front teeth and a skin allergy on her hands, which caused them to break out in blisters. Martin said Stonehouse was also pregnant at the time when she fled her Elm Road home. Having run away from home previously, she was reported missing by her father on Aug. 8, 1983. "Her father reported her missing because her mother was in hospital dying of cancer and wanted to see her daughter," Martin told the Beaver. Both her parents have since died. Stonehouse was described as white, of medium build with green eyes and wavy, shoulder-length blonde hair. She was approximately 5-foot4 and 110 lbs. at the time of her disappearance. Martin said Stonehouse's family owned a trailer in Huntsville and in 1987 there was a confirmed sighting of Tucker and Stonehouse. Both girls' disappearances remain on the Halton Regional Police website as unsolved missing persons cases. Investigators are convinced the disappearances are linked and do not believe the teens met with foul play. · · · May 25 was proclaimed as Missing Children's Day in 1983 to mark the day in 1979 that six-year-old Etan Patz left home to walk the two blocks to his New York City school bus and vanished. "It is a day of renewed hope for families and a reminder for all Canadians to keep searching," stated a media release by Halton police. "For every missing child, there is a family that is incomplete; a family whose child has not come home. Darlene Tucker's family has been living that nightmare for over 30 years." -- with files from David Lea. FRESHLY SQUEEZED 146 Lakeshore Rd.W. · Oakville 905.338.6333 Monday to Sunday : From 7:00 am to 3:00 pm Complimentary Consultation LASIK & EYE SURGERY 905 845 EYES (3937) Oakville, ON WWW.SEEBYIV.COM