Parents of missing man visit Yukon to look for leads on their son's whereabouts

Heidi and Terry Van Roon haven't seen their son in two years.

The couple said their son Karl, 41, was last seen was in Texas, in 2022, with plans to hitchhike New Mexico.

"The last we heard from him [he was at] a small farm in Texas," Terry said.

Prior to Karl's disappearance, he spent many years in the Yukon, calling the communities of Dawson City and Keno City home.

Earlier this week, the Van Roons travelled to the territory from Vancouver to look for any information from those who knew Karl, that could lead them to their son.

"I drove up here ... so that we could first of all meet the people and places that he's been to," Terry said.

"I want to experience the community where my son lived and spent time for approximately five years," Heidi said.

'We dearly miss him'

Terry said he'd visited his son in Dawson many years ago and that everyone knew who Karl was.

He shared a story of hiking up the Dempster Highway and into Tombstone Mountain with his son.

"It's foggy. We haven't seen any other hikers and then these two people do come down and sure enough, 'Karl.' Big hugs and high fives," he said.

"We were at Stewart Crossing and there was some people sleeping in a car off to the side waiting for the gas station to open and one of them crawled out of the car and sure enough, 'Karl.' Like wherever we went there were people that were impacted deeply by some kind of relationship that they had with him."

The Van Roons plan to be in the Yukon for four days.

They arrived in Dawson City on Tuesday, and after meeting with people who knew Karl that evening and following morning, they left for Keno City with a stop over at the Village of Mayo.

Terry said they're hoping to get news on their son's condition, whether good or bad.

"We dearly miss him," said Terry. "As do the people that we meet here too. We've had people crying here when they meet us because we're that reminder of him. And it will be the same in Keno as well as we go through his belongings and hope to find him."

Not much help from authorities

Heidi said her son's preferred mode of travel was to hitchhike. She said because their son was hitchhiking on his own, authorities have told them there's not enough evidence to consider Karl a missing person.

"We have made many attempts at getting a police file for a missing person," said Heidi. "In the end those efforts all arrive at the same place: He is travelling at his own free will and therefore this is not a police file."

The Van Roons said they've contacted everyone they could think of to help with tracking down Karl, from local police departments in Canada and the United States, including the FBI, but consistently hit dead ends.

That is why they started an online campaign called, "Lets Find Karl."

They posted a video on YouTube sharing Karl's story and pleading with the public to come forward with any information that could help solve the mystery, and bring some sort of closure for the family.

"I want to know that he's OK," said Heidi. "He doesn't need to return home. That's OK. He's free to travel, he's a grown man. I just want to know he's OK somewhere or what has happened to him."

"It's that community that we've become a part of that I never wanted to be a part of. That is the community of parents that have missing children."

The family is asking anyone with any information regarding their son Karl to contact them at LetsFindKarl@gmail.com.