Crystal Dunahee, President of the Child Find BC says there have been improvements in search of missing kids

Mother of missing BC child advises others in similar situation to not lose hope

Crystal Dunahee reflects back on son Michael's disappearance in 1991 saying she was an "emotional wreck"

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – An Amber Alert for a missing Alberta toddler remains in place. Police say Hailey Dunbar-Blanchette was taken around 3:30 a.m. MST early this morning from the town of Blairmore, Alberta.

A Victoria mother whose son went missing 25 years ago knows all too well what family members must be going through.

Crystal Dunahee’s four-year-old son Michael vanished from a playground in 1991.

She says she was an “emotional wreck” in the first 24 hours.

“It’s just heart wrenching, you can’t sleep, you can’t think, you can’t eat, people telling you, you have to go do this and do that and you’re just completely numb. I couldn’t do anything, [everyone tried to] keep me mobile so I didn’t lose it completely.”

She has advice for friends and family going through a similar frightening situation.

“Just keep the hope up because it’s all you can do until you have the answers that you’re looking for…we’re 25 years later and yeah, we still have hope, we don’t have anything else otherwise so until then we continue.”

Dunahee who is also the President of Child Find BC says a lot has changed since then noting communication between agencies has improved, the Amber Alert system is in place, and people are paying more attention to what they’re children are doing.