Missing Children

Jessica Koopmans

On the evening of 4 May 2001, 5-year-old Jessica Koopmans disappeared from her home in northwest Lethbridge, Alberta. She was last seen leaving her home that Friday night at about 5:30 P.M.. The little girl had been sitting with her 7-year-old sister, Siera, when she told her mom she was going down the street to play with friends. She was given 20 minutes to visit before returning home for supper, but she never came back.

After a massive search of the area turned up nothing, police converted the case from a search and rescue initiative to a criminal investigation. Sadly, a week after her disappearance, Jessica's body was found in a farmer's field in Fort Macleod, Alberta,

A family friend, 31-year-old Anthony Harold Gallup, was apprehended on 12 May 2001 in High River, Alberta, and charged with Jessica's death. He was subsequently convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Back to Missing Children page.