Brenda Marion Byman was 12 when she disappeared from Wilmer, British Columbia, on May 7, 1961. The day before she had attended her first sleepover; on the morning she vanished she hiked toward the Lake Enid area with four other teenagers and was last seen wearing a faded royal blue parka with a pink fur-lined hood, a dark blue sweater over a white blouse, grey and black checkered slacks, and blue and white saddle shoes.

One of the valley’s largest search efforts followed: hundreds of volunteers, helicopters, rescue dogs, horseback riders and searches of Lake Enid, a nearby lake and the Horsethief and Toby Creek canyons produced no trace. Accounts from the four teens who were with her conflicted; the group reportedly split, leaving Brenda with two teenage boys, and their later polygraph tests were disputed because so much time had passed. Police say they believe Brenda met with foul play; her DNA has been entered into a national database and investigators have discussed using ground-penetrating radar at areas of interest.

If anyone knew Brenda, the teens she was with, or has information about Lake Enid and surrounding trails from that time, please share what is known.