Mom still waiting to hear from silent son

Luke Degerness walked out of his mom Gina's life a confused, angry teenaged boy.

She desperately hopes he will walk back into her life a grown man.

Degerness was 14 when he left a meeting at the PGSS vice principal's office on June 7, 2007.

Luke, Gina, and the vice-principal discussed a class he was failing and arrived at solution - a summer class - that would ensure he passed the course. Gina didn't realize her son was unhappy with the plan until, 10 minutes later, she and the vice-principal went to his class to say a final goodbye to him. He had left the meeting but immediately cut the class.

It was disclosed Thursday, the fifth anniversary of his disappearance, that Degerness was known to have spent the night he disappeared at a friend's house. That tip was followed up and confirmed by police, but he hasn't been heard from since.

"He's missed a lot of life events and we don't want him to miss anymore. He is missed desperately," said Gina, through tears and hugs of her weeping six-year-old daughter Jade who still remembers her big brother.

Although Gina knows Degerness left the school that day of his own volition, she is gravely concerned for his safety since then.

"The thing that worries me most," she said, "is he knew how I worried about him. He would always send emails or make a phone call. But since that day, I never got one. That is totally out of character for him."

About 10 family members were on hand with the RCMP and investigators from the Missing Children Society of Canada at the anniversary event calling on more tips. Police spokesman Cpl. Craig Douglass confirmed that many tips had come in about Degereness over the years, and they even pinpointed a Prince George youth who looked very similar to the missing boy and had been confusing the public.

Degerness's ties to Edmonton were followed, and a new tip has surfaced recently about his possible appearance in Vancouver, but nothing affirmative has so far come in.

"Unless information comes in, it is very restrictive for us," said Douglass. "We believe someone out there has information. It has been five years. Step forward. Provide that information. We will follow up on any tip, and hopefully find Lucas."

Douglass urged everyone, including Degerness himself if he was in media contact, to realize that turning 19 means no youth-based legal implications exist. He is free to make contact in any way he chooses.

If you have any information about Lucas James Degerness or where he might be, please contact the Prince George RCMP at (250)561-3300 or anonymously contact Crime Stoppers at 1(800)222-TIPS (8477), online at www.pgcrimestoppers.bc.ca, or Text-A-Tip to CRIMES (274637) using keyword "pgtips".

Anonymous information can also be passed on to the Missing Children Society of Canada, which is helping to investigate. To contact MCSC, call 1-800-661-6160 toll free or email [email protected].