The family of a man from northern B.C. are desperate for information after not having heard from him since April of 2023.
Justin “Jiggy” Lloyd Joseph is reported missing from the Burns Lake area, where his family believes he was working at times for a Smithers sawmill and a construction company.
Joseph is a 42-year-old First Nations man from Tl’azt’en First Nation (the community is also known as Taché), west of Fort St. James, B.C.
His family said he lived a high-risk lifestyle which he kept separate from them, but was always in touch for birthdays and special occasions, especially those of his nephews and nieces and his best friend’s son, whom he remained close to, despite his lifestyle.
“We weren’t in constant contact, but the love was always there,” said his sister Vanessa Joseph, who lives in Tl’azt’en (Taché). She said they didn’t worry about her brother until he missed yet another birthday.
The lawyer’s office who Justin Joseph had been working with for a day school claim against the Eugene Joseph Catholic Day School which operated on the reserve from 1963 until 1990, got in touch with the family when they had not been able to reach him.
The law office staff had been unable to get in touch with Justin Joseph since January 2023. They later contacted the family who became increasingly concerned after he had not made it home for an extended period.
Vanessa said her brother always came back to visit periodically and would go hunting and fishing with his best friend, bringing home meat and fish for the family.
“He was a good provider,” she said.
Realizing it had been abnormally long between visits and contact, they called the RCMP, opening a missing persons file in Fort St. James, B.C., the nearest community to where they live.
Justin “Jiggy” Lloyd Joseph is five feet, seven inches tall, 140 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair.
Anyone with any information regarding his whereabouts, are asked to contact Fort St. James RCMP at 250-996-8269. The RCMP file number is 2023-3112.
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