On the quiet evening of April 3, 1993, in the small community of Chitek Lake, Saskatchewan, 16-year-old Kevin James Charles and his adoptive grandmother, 67-year-old Mary Nancy Goodfellow, vanished without a trace. The night held a sinister turn when two unidentified individuals reportedly broke into Goodfellow's home, threatening Kevin and accusing him of theft. In a state of panic, Kevin fled the house and ran to a neighbor's home across the street, desperately screaming for help. Tragically, the occupants did not open their door, and what transpired for the remainder of that evening remains a heart-wrenching mystery. Neither Kevin nor his grandmother have been seen or heard from since that night. At the time of his disappearance, Kevin was a left-handed Indigenous male with brown hair and brown eyes. He stood at 5'6" and weighed around 120 pounds. Distinguishing features included a brown birthmark on his left bicep and a scar over his right eye.
He was believed to be wearing a light jacket with gold flecks on the shoulders, blue jeans, and running or hiking shoes, along with a black and neon green watch. Mary Goodfellow was known to wear a hearing aid and often dressed in long, floor-length dresses.
The initial investigation and extensive searches of the surrounding area yielded no clues as to their whereabouts. The years that followed were marked by silence and the painful absence of answers for their family. The case, though it grew cold, was never completely forgotten. In 2006, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) reopened the investigation, acting on a tip that led them to an old well site near Leoville, which was considered a potential area of interest. Officers taped off the area, but a tragic turn of events occurred when one of the lead investigators, Constable Marc Bourdages, was killed in an unrelated shootout a short time later. Following this, the investigation into the well site seemingly lost momentum. The case is still considered active by the F Division RCMP Historical Case Unit.
Decades after their disappearance, the hope of finding answers has not faded for the families of Kevin and Mary. In the spring of 2022, fueled by enduring rumors and a desire for closure, a volunteer search team, including Kevin's cousin, excavated the well site near Leoville that had been identified by the RCMP years earlier. Despite the emotional and painstaking effort, the search did not uncover any evidence related to the disappearance of the young man and his grandmother. The case of Kevin James Charles and Mary Nancy Goodfellow is a somber reminder of a mystery that has endured for over three decades, leaving a family to grapple with the unknown. The initial terror of that night, Kevin's unanswered pleas for help, and the subsequent silence have created a void that remains unfilled. Though extensive searches have been conducted and the case has been revisited, the fate of the 16-year-old boy and his grandmother remains one of Saskatchewan's most haunting unsolved mysteries.Last Seen: Apr 3, 1993
