The Disappearance of Melissa McDevitt

Melissa McDevitt on a past hike. Credit: Capital Daily

After speaking with her on the evening of Thursday, December 8th, 2022, Melissa McDevitt's parents were eagerly anticipating her arrival that weekend. The Christmas holidays were quickly approaching and the 39-year-old Melissa had been preparing to travel home to the USA to spend time with family. Melissa never arrived for her flight and by Saturday, her concerned father would report her missing. Over seven months later, the search for Melissa still hasn't resolved.

On Friday, December 9th, Melissa's father Tom was already concerned. He would regularly check in with his daughter, but after the routine call went unanswered he proceeded to try three more times over the next three hours. Melissa never picked up. When Saturday came around, Tom's calls went straight to voicemail. Still unsure of his daughter's whereabouts, Tom contacted the Emergency number at Melissa's condo in Victoria, BC and asked them if her vehicle was still in its parking spot. The grey 2015 Subaru Forester was nowhere to be seen.

Melissa's car where it was found near Sooke Potholes. Credit: Victoria Police Department

With his concern growing, next Tom would reach out to a neighbour who agreed to have a look at Melissa's unit. After receiving no answer at the door, the neighbour realized the door had been left unlocked and let themselves inside to investigate. The neighbour informed Tom that Melissa's passport had been left lying on her bed. It would later be uncovered that not only did Melissa never board her flight from Vancouver, but she never boarded her ferry either. When Tom later contacted the Victoria Police Department regarding his daughter he told them "She's going to be in Sooke." Melissa is known the be an avid hiker and lover of the Sooke Potholes Provincial Park. Investigation into Melissa's whereabouts began on Saturday and by Sunday her vehicle had been located.

The grey Subaru Forester bearing a North Carolina license plate was found parked near the Sook Potholes park. Snack bars, her water, her winter clothes, and an emergency blanket were all left in the car. Everything she would have needed for a long hike, especially one in Canada's early December weather.

Photos of Melissa Mcdevitt. Credit: Victoria Police Department | Smoky Mountain News

Missing person reports would describe Melissa as being a petite Caucasian woman, standing 5ft. tall and weighing 105 lbs. She has a very small frame with "children's sized" feet and small hands. She is neuro-divergent, being diagnosed with Trisomy X, a chromosomal condition found only in females and affecting approximately 1 in 1,000 female births. While many cases present mildly or even asymptomatically, Melissa is known to show neuro-divergent qualities which may be perceived as a cognitive delay. She also experiences hair loss due to alopecia and is often seen in wigs or with her hair shaved short and dye rainbow colours.

Melissa McDevitt is seen walking along a trail on CCTV. Credit: Global News / RCMP

CCTV footage recovered from nearby Jack Brookes Hatchery along Sooke River showed Melissa walking alone near an entrance to one of the area's many trails. When she left the temperature had been around 40° F (4° C), and she was seen dressed in a small fleece top, hiking sneakers, and a knitted hat. No gloves, no winter coat, no boots, and seemingly no supplies except two hiking poles. All of which would have come in very handy during the night's windstorm. Between the violent winds and torrential rain the temperature dropped to 20° F (-6° C).

As search efforts continued, Melissa's father Tom leave his home and his wife to fly out and help. He arrived on December 13th and joined over 170 others in searching for his missing daughter. Also on that day a helicopter would be used along with heat sensors to scan the area, but would come back with no new leads. It would go out again on the 14th with the same poor luck. The following Thursday and Friday the park would be closed down to allow for canines to scour the search area undistracted but nothing of note was found. Over the weekend Sooke RCMP with the help of 17 separate Search and Rescue agencies continued to trek through the often difficult terrain in hopes of finding any sign of Melissa. With still no luck and the weather only getting worse, the search efforts were suspended.

A sign at the entrance to Sooke Potholes reminds passersby of Melissa. Credit: Tori Manlan / Capital Daily

Since then, Sooke RCMP has kept the investigation open and active and after months, announced the search would begin again on July 8th, 2023. Exactly seven months after she was last heard from back in December. In the early days of the search, some had hoped that Melissa's Garmin smartwatch would lead them to where she'd been hiking on the day of her disappearance. However, she'd left that day without it. Investigations further in 2023 found that while she hadn't been wearing her watch on Friday when she vanished, she had been wearing it on Thursday. And it had recorded her hiking in the same area where she'd last been seen. She'd hiked in and back out, leading officials to believe she'd ventured out Friday with the intention of taking the same trail further. With this in mind, Sooke RCMP narrowed down a new search area further north, beginning where Melissa had left off on her Thursday hike. The re-invigorated efforts would also focus on areas off-trail with the belief that she likely would have sought shelter during Friday night's storm.

Despite this new information, the renewed searches revealed nothing, yet again. The RCMP would again announce the suspension of the search on July 10th. Despite the tireless efforts of Search and Rescue Agencies from across the province, we are still no closer to finding Melissa McDevitt. The high-risk circumstances of her disappearance have left everyone desperate for answers. While foul play is considered unlikely, it is still a possibility. There are many possibilities and no answers.

If you have any information or if you think you may have seen Melissa on December 9th, 2022, you are encouraged to reach out. You can do this by calling the Sooke RCMP at 250-642-5241. If you find Melissa please stay with her and call 911 immediately.

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