The small memorial along Sooke Road is a sad reminder of the disappearance of Sooke teenager Jesokah Adkens.
Periodically the small plot sports fresh flowers and small tokens of importance to either Jesokah or her friends and family. “In Memory of Our Good Friend JESOKAH” speaks volumes of the sadness and questions which still prevail in the minds of those who loved the happy, friendly young woman who vanished without a trace on September 26, 2001.
Jesokah would now be 27-years-old, her life would be in full swing and her future would be shaping up to be what she wanted from it.
It’s a cold case, but it is still very much a part of the everyday life of Clayton and Jocelan Adkens. The Missing Childrens’ Society of Canada still has her profile on their website, and Jesokah is still considered an “active” case.
Ten years ago on a dark September night around 9 p.m. Jesokah was standing at a bus stop at Sooke and Idlemore Roads. She never got on the bus and she was never seen again.
She was wearing a black bomber-style jacker, blue jeans, black runners and a “Doors” T-shirt. She is 5’5” tall, 110 lbs. and has long straight blonde hair.
The police, at the time, conducted searches under the Sooke River Bridge, at Diversion Dam and in each case the result was the same — nothing. Psychics were consulted and again, nothing.
Jesokah was living on her own with a friend, had a good relationship with her parents, had a boyfriend and a dog and was attending Edward Milne Community School.
In 2009, there were 50,492 children reported missing in Canada. In British Columbia, which has the highest number of reported cases of missing children, next to Ontario, there were 10,348 cases. To break it down, there were 16 stranger (anyone other than a parent or guardian) abductions, six accidents, 13 parental abductions, 4,757 runaways, 4,759 unknowns and 679, other (missing from institutions, etc).
Someone out there has to know something. Perhaps it is time for someone to get this off their chest. If you have any information on the disappearance of Jesokah Adkens, call the local RCMP detachment at 250-642-5241 or the Missing Children Society of Canada at 1-800-661-6160.