Lana Patricia Derrick grew up in Terrace, British Columbia, and was part of the Gitanyow First Nation. Lana was known to family and friends as a bit of a prankster who loved the outdoors. She was determined to go to college after high school, and in 1995, she enrolled in the forestry program at Northwest Community College in Houston, British Columbia.
Northwest Community College had many campuses in various communities along the northwest stretch of Highway 16. Lana was attending classes in Houston, which was a three-hour drive from Terrace. In college, Lana was known as a good student who took her studies seriously and someone who made friends quickly. She still visited her family often, going back home on weekends.
Lana Derrick (Unidentified Wiki)
The Friday before Thanksgiving, Lana got a ride back to Terrace with a fellow classmate. She knew her parents, Marge and Darvin Haugan, were preparing to work all weekend in order to finish a forestry contract, so when she arrived at their house, she dropped off her belongings and headed into town.
Lana's stepsister, Clarice Dessert, was driving around town when she spotted Lana walking on the street and stopped to let her know that their father had given her cash for Lana to pick up. Lana asked if Clarice could pick up the money and take it to her apartment, as Clarice lived downtown and it would be easier for Lana to get it there. The girls then parted ways.
Clarice's younger sister was spending the night with her that night, and the two went to bed early. Sometime around 3:00 a.m., Clarice woke up to the sound of someone knocking on her door. Clarice remembered being half-asleep and opening the door to find Lana, who had come to collect her money. She remembered chatting with Lana for a little bit and being invited to a party, which she declined to go to. She gave Lana $30, and the two said goodnight. Clarice didn't recall seeing a vehicle, headlights, or any other person around. Lana seemed intoxicated but didn’t appear upset or anxious, and nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
On Saturday, Marge and Darvin noticed Lana's bag at home, but they figured she had stayed over at a friend's house after a night out. Rarely at home that weekend, they still had not seen their daughter by Monday, and her belongings remained untouched. When Lana did not show up on Tuesday, they knew something was not right, as classes started that day and their daughter never missed school.
After contacting friends and family, they realized that no one had seen their daughter in three days. They then went to the police to file a missing person report. Marge and Darvin remembered feeling brushed off, with police suggesting that Lana was probably out partying or staying with a boyfriend for a few days. Despite her family insisting otherwise, no real search occurred for Lana until nearly a week after this initial meeting.
Lana's family, friends, and community came together to search for her all over British Columbia before, during, and after any police involvement. After a couple of days assisting in the search, police decided it was time to call it off.
They had put in their seventy-two hours. Everybody go home now, we'll let you know what we find out. And we said, you go home. We're not done.Marge Haugan, Lana's mother (Highway of Tears)
A month after the report was filed, a witness came forward to say they had seen Lana at the Petro-Canada gas station in Thornhill at around 3:30 a.m. on the morning of her disappearance. Thornhill is located across the river from downtown Terrace, and the gas station sits on the south side of Highway 16. The witness claimed to have seen Lana get out of the backseat of a blue car, walk into the gas station convenience store, and then walk out and back into the car before it drove off, heading north to the Northern Motor Inn.
Unfortunately, police could not recover footage from the gas station, as that night's security footage had already been recorded over. Sketches and detailed descriptions were also released of the two men thought to have been in the car with Lana, but nothing ever came of it. Lana's supposed boyfriend was also considered a suspect. He was someone Clarice had also dated briefly, but she ended the relationship after an incident in which he became intoxicated and rough with her. Clarice received a call the morning after Lana disappeared, saying that he had committed suicide the previous night. Police looked into this but could not find any connection between his death and Lana’s disappearance.
Since Lana's disappearance, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) task force called E-PANA was created to investigate the series of unsolved murders along this highway, including Lana's. The purpose of the task force was “to determine if a serial killer, or killers, is responsible for murdering young women traveling along major highways in B.C.” (E-PANA website). To date, however, this case still remains unsolved, as do all the cases along the highway included in E-PANA.
