Tamra Disappears From Right Inside Her Home

Tamra Jewel Keepness disappeared on Monday, July 5, 2004 from her home in downtown Regina in Saskatchewan, Canada.  She was last seen sometime after 11 p.m.  She shares a home with her mother, twin sister and 4 other siblings.  She was reported missing by her mother on Tuesday around 12:15 p.m.  Five year old Tamra is a native Canadian and has brown hair cut in a short bob. 

Lorena Keepness describes her daughter as the "mischievous twin."  She says Tamra likes to explore but she does not believe her daughter would wander off alone.  According to Tamra's mother she knows her full name, birthday, and address.  Tamra's mother admits that the back door to their home was open.  She says there have been strangers in the neighborhood recently and that just last week she saw a strange man talking to her son.  The Keepnesses live in close proximity to a police stion.  However, they also live close to a halfway house for recently released federal prisoners. 

Police Call Off Search, Aboriginals Pick It Up

Police say initially the search for Tamra had been limited to the area around the family home and some fields on the outskirts of the city. A nearby creek bed was also scoured and a plane was brought in to search from the air. As checks with family and friends proved fruitless -- an examination of the area turned up nothing -- and time wore on, police decided to call in search and rescue groups to bolster the 22 officers already involved, including members of the Major Crimes unit.  Up to 120 searchers had spent a combined 5,600 hours looking for Tamra and 40 detectives were also working on the case but she remains missing. Tamra was last seen wearing a light blue, striped halter top with pink accents. She may be shoeless or in shorts. 

The police have offered a 25-thousand dollar reward in the case.  But they have also called off their search saying they have looked everywhere they could.  Saskatchewan, in the Canadian Prairies, is home to many native Canadians, referred to in Canada as "aboriginals."  Tamra's family is among them and they have called on that community for help.  Aboriginals from all over the region are now searching for Tamra, some traveling hundreds of miles to take part.

Update: Tamra's Stepfather Arrested on Assault Charges, 2 Cars Stolen

Tamra's stepfather was charged on July 21st with assaulting a man in the family home on the night Tamra disappeared.  Twenty-nine year old Dean Blair McArthur is accused of assaulting a 33-year-old man in an altercation at 3 a.m. on July 6th, about four hours after Tamra was reportedly last seen in the home.  The alleged victim went to the hospital with a cut to his head and received sticthes.  Police tell us that the only link to the assualt and Tamra's disappearance is that the two incidents occured the same night. 

More pertinent to police are two vehicles that were stolen the same night Tamra disappeared.  Police tell us a number of vehicles were stoeln that night but these two particualr cars remain unrecovered leading police to believe that they may be connected to Tamra's disappearance.  Police are looking for a 1973 oange Volkswagon van with a white roof and the license plate 728 DMF.  The second car is a 1989 GMC 1500 truck, which is red withs silver sides and a 4X4 decal.  Its license plate number is WDW 189.