Two-year-old Cindy Lou McLane was last seen by her mother about 9:15 a.m. on September 9, 1958, playing outside the family’s new home in the small sawmill community of Willow River, British Columbia. The family had moved there two days earlier. She was born July 5, 1956, and at the time of her disappearance was wearing a white blouse, a blue or brown cotton sweater, light blue corduroy pants with a black fleck, and red and white Saddle Oxford shoes.

Reports from that morning differ on a few details—a sighting on Main Street, one account saying she played with a neighbor’s kitten and another saying she was seen with a dog. The response was enormous: more than 2,000 volunteers from Willow River and Prince George, searches of waterways, roads and rail lines, and aircraft. The official search ended September 16, 1958, with no trace found; the family continued searching and the father offered rewards for information.

Investigators at the time considered a wildlife attack after black bears were seen nearby, but hunters found no supporting evidence and a later-killed bear was not involved. Law enforcement’s prevailing view was that the speed and total lack of physical trace pointed to abduction. Does anyone have memories or information about Willow River in 1958 that might shed light on Cindy Lou’s disappearance?