On July 3, 1960, police received a report of a lost child in the Red Lake area, 45 miles northwest of Kamloops. Twenty-one-month-old Edna Bette-Jean Masters was never found and no evidence of what happened to her was located. Known to the family as Bette-Jean, she was last seen playing with family and friends at a friend’s residence.
At the time of her disappearance, Bette-Jean was wearing a green bonnet with white frill, an undershirt, a pink short-sleeved t-shirt, faded pink overalls, white socks and sandals. She weighed about 24 pounds, had blonde, fine, curly hair, blue eyes, and a fair complexion.
In 1960, the area was searched extensively by volunteers, police, airplane and police dog. The search included the yard, surrounding forests, ponds and roadways. Numerous tips were generated but nothing has been found that would suggest what happened to Bette-Jean.
One of the only leads was a sighting of an unfamiliar 1959 Chevrolet car with Alberta plates that was seen nearby with a man and woman in their late 20s. The car had either “cat eye” or “bat wing” tail lights, the RCMP said.
Investigators have never been able to determine the identities of the couple or whether they were connected to Masters’ disappearance.
Anyone with information on Bette-Jean disappearance, no matter how minor the detail, is asked to come forward and contact the rural RCMP at 250-314-1800. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Sources:
https://www.doenetwork.org/cases/3419dfbc.html
https://armchairmayor.ca/2015/05/20/what-happened-to-bette-jean/
https://ucfiles.com/Files/1960/bjm.php
https://globalnews.ca/news/2009149/toddler-went-missing-55-years-ago-police/
