25 years later, Sooke teen’s disappearance remains unsolved
Published 6:30 pm Tuesday, September 29, 2026
25 years after 17-year-old Jesokah Adkens disappeared in Sooke, the search for answers continues.
Adkens was last seen at about 9:30 p.m. on Sept. 26, 2001, while waiting for a bus near Sooke Road and Idlemore Road.
She had left a friend’s home shortly after 9 p.m. and was walking the short distance to the bus stop. She never boarded the bus and has not been seen since. At the time, Adkens was living with a friend in downtown Sooke and attending Edward Milne Community School.
She had moved in with a friend the month before, but remained in regular contact with her parents. Her father, Clayten, said she was well known and well liked and that he could not imagine her leaving without telling anyone.
He also pointed to her puppy as a reason he did not believe she had left voluntarily. “If she was going to go off some place, she would bring the puppy here for us to look after,” Clayten said at the time.
Following her disappearances, police launched an extensive search of the area by land, air and water. Investigators also searched beneath the Sooke River Bridge, but found no sign of Adkens.
Sooke RCMP later said foul play could not be ruled out, and the Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit took over the investigation.
The bus stop where Adkens was last seen has since been moved, but a memorial near the location remains.
At the time of her disappearance, Adkens was described as 5’5” and weighing between 88 and 110 pounds. She had blonde hair and blue eyes and was wearing a Doors band T-Shirt, jeans, a black pullover and black runners.
Adkens would now be 42 years old.
Anyone with information about her disappearance is asked to contact Sooke RCMP or Greater Victoria Crime Stoppers.