Six episodes of the Where Is Lisa podcast is shining new light on the mysterious disappearance of Lisa Marie Young (Laura Palmer)

By Ian Holmes

cold case

Podcast breathes new life into historic case of missing Nanaimo woman

Jun 5, 2020 | 6:38 AM

NANAIMO — The case of a missing Nanaimo Indigenous woman who vanished nearly 18 years ago is getting a much-needed jolt.

A new six-episode podcast series titled ‘Island Crime Season 1: Where is Lisa?’ is focused on Lisa Marie Young.

The then 21-year-old woman was last seen in the early morning of June 30, 2002 before receiving a ride from a Nanaimo house party to get food. The RCMP classify Young as missing and presumed to have been a homicide victim.

The podcast was created by Laura Palmer, a former newsroom producer in Vancouver turned independent true crime podcaster.

Palmer told NanaimoNewsNOW she was always interested in Young’s case and perplexed by her disappearance.

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“I’ve always felt there should be answers in her case, that the answers are out there, that the case is solvable.”

Palmer’s investigation pieces together what’s known about the night Young disappeared.

She accepted a ride from a house party to get food from man in a red Jaguar she had met earlier in the evening. Young later phoned a friend to say she was in the car on a Bowen Rd. driveway and being held against her will.

Nanaimo RCMP confirmed the driver of the jaguar remains a person of interest.

Palmer said she doesn’t think people responsible for what happened to Young will listen to her podcast and come forward to police.

“But I do believe those people have friends and family and over the years have talked to those people and feel those people need to come forward now,” Palmer said as her voice raised with emotion.

The podcast documents and weighs the credibility of numerous rumours of Young’s disappearance. The RCMP’s handling of the case is explored and Young’s background and personality is profiled.

Palmer said Young’s upbeat, energetic and hardworking nature, and positive impact in her community was abundantly clear while interviewing people close to her.

“That love for Lisa is certainly a vibe that I got. The other thing I pick up on is anger and outrage that her case remains unsolved.”

The podcast has surged to one of Apple’s top true crime offerings in Canada, with nearly 30,000 downloads and counting.

Palmer said she intends to build on her debut into the world of independent podcasting by focusing on unsolved Vancouver Island based crimes.

Nanaimo RCMP Cst. Gary O’Brien applauded Palmer’s work, saying this type of coverage puts the case back in the forefront of people’s minds.

O’Brien said their detachment still receives tips in Young’s disappearance.

“We’re always following up, it’s a very active file,” O’Brien told NanaimoNewsNOW.

He said people know what happened to Young and implores them to come forward.

“We’re still hoping to hear from people we have not heard of before, because we know they’re out there,” O’Brien said.

There have been no arrests and no charges laid in Young’s case.

An event to mark the anniversary of Young’s disappearance is scheduled to take place in Nanaimo on June 30.

Anyone with information on the disappearance of Lisa Marie Young is urged to contact Nanaimo RCMP or Crime Stoppers.

The podcast can be streamed online, or subscribed to through popular podcast apps on Google or Apple.

ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes