The family of a Dowling man who mysteriously disappeared last November say they believe he was murdered.
They have issued a public statement through the Greater Sudbury Police Service appealing to Jeffery Mason's "killers" to release the whereabouts of his body so they can " properly mourn and grieve him."
The letter from the Mason family was released yesterday which is the fourth anniversary of the stroke and subsequent passing of Jeffery’s father.
Jeffery Malcolm Mason, 37, was last seen Nov. 15. The next day his home in Dowling was burned to the ground and his car was found, also burned, in Minnow Lake.
When releasing the statement, the police said the family would not be available for comment,
Here is the Mason family's statement:
It was four years ago on Jan. 9, 2003, that we received the call that our Father had suffered a massive stroke and he was not expected to pull through. It was a very difficult time for us, to lose our Father, our Mother’s husband, and Grandfather to so many.
We all had an opportunity to say our goodbyes, made arrangements to donate his organs, and after removing his life support, he was allowed to pass away Jan. 10. We were devastated, it was so sudden, without warning, we were never so unprepared. He was only 68. He was so healthy.
We have a strong family, and after much discussion on what to do, in the months ahead, our brother Jeff stepped up to the plate. He would move back from Calgary, move in with our Mother, deal with all the issues around the farm, concerning livestock, farm equipment, as well as maintaining the property.
He did a great job. He loved the property and spent most of his time with our Mother, keeping her company, paying close attention to her needs, and what needed to be done. He was unselfish, and gave completely of himself. He was there for us in our time of need. He was our hero, we loved him, and we will be forever grateful to him for his acts of kindness and unselfishness. He really was a standup type of guy. He was there for us when we needed him, as we are all here for him.
On Nov. 16 we awoke to a 7 am phone call that our brother's house was on fire. This phone call sounded the alarm to us that something was very terribly wrong. We were concerned for his safety, we rushed over there to find him. We did not know anything of his whereabouts at the time of the fire, and we feared that he could be inside.
Information was slow in coming about with his car being set on fire and being found in Sudbury. We feared then that he was murdered.
We cannot find Jeff. We are in shock and disbelief about the circumstances. It was like being in a hurricane, with no shelter, with nothing to hold on to, we were truly blown away.
We feared for his safety, we were afraid that something had happened to him that we could not begin to understand or fathom. What has taken place?
We have been totally consumed by this, we live it day and night. There is no escape from it all. We do not understand at all, and it is beyond our comprehension.
We banded together as family, trying to comfort each other with hope and faith that somehow we would find him, and everything would somehow work out, answering our prayers that he could be “alive,” and in hiding.
We have shed rivers of tears since Nov. 16 and we continue to do so. Our hearts, minds, and bodies ache from this great loss. We bear many wounds and scars already from these senseless acts of violence and destruction.
All our great hopes and dreams for our brother, Jeff, and our family lie before us in the smoldering ashes of our family homestead. We feel robbed of his life, our memories of past and future good times gone, never to be realized. Our dreams are replaced by overwhelming feelings of grief, sadness, sorrow and despair. We are already so very tired and weary of the road so far.
We love and miss him so much. We torture ourselves with thoughts of how we could have intervened somehow, and by some way or means changed the outcome of what has happened. We console one another with words of love for him, the memories we share, all of us needing each other, leaning on each other for the support network that is present in every family. We are no different, than anyone else, only unique in that we have suffered such a tragic loss. Our hearts and minds reach out to all the other families that have suffered similar tragedies, and also for those who will experience anything like it in the future.
He was murdered. As time passes we have come to realize, and are publicly willing to declare, that we believe our brother was murdered on Nov. 16. On Jan. 9 it will be 55 days since we last seen or heard from our Brother.
The facts are that since that time, no one has seen or heard from him. There are no banking records, no signs of ever using any kind of public assistance, or anything at all.
Most importantly, no family member has ever received a phone call, or any indication of any contact with us. He would never do this to us, and we trust and believe in that fact.
Our situation has most certainly been amplified by the onset of the Christmas season, and our feelings of missing him so much at this time of year. He had never previously ever missed any of the Christmas season with us.
His chair at Christmas dinner (was) so unmistakably vacant. Although we were surrounded by friends and family, cheer, goodwill and love, we were feeling so empty and hollow inside. We long for him, and to solve this mystery of simply just finding him.
Our Brother loved animals and especially his dog Molly. He had a special fondness for all animals, and living things, but none so special as he had for Molly. He loved his dog “Molly” with so much enthusiasm and delighted in her companionship. They were inseparable. Where you found Molly, you found Jeff.
We found the dog’s remains after the fire in the house. This tells us that Jeff was there that night, but he was unable to help Molly. He was loyal to his dog, and it was obvious to us, that he would never allow her to perish. He just would not, and could not do this.
The Fire Marshall’s office concluded that the fires both to his home and car were purposely set and definitely arson. We don’t believe even for a moment that he would do this to property that was purchased less than three months before, and contained all of our family memories that he treasured, as well as his precious Molly.
His car that was also set on fire, and left in a location in Sudbury that we know he was unfamiliar with. It had no fire insurance on it. There could be no personal gain for him in either fire. We believe it was a feeble attempt by the perpetrators of this crime to cover up their actions by attempting to destroy evidence against them.
Our Brother, son to our Mother, was murdered whether it was intentional or not. He will not be coming home alive.
During the police investigation, so many people were interviewed about his disappearance. What is remarkable is that anyone who had contact with him spoke so highly of him. He was a man of good character, fun loving, loyal, a good worker and a welder, honoured among many as a true professional.
He was always there to help others; he certainly could never have deserved such a fate as this.
A message to his killers: We do not understand why this has happened. We do not know what may have motivated you to orchestrate such horrible acts of insanity against our Brother and family. We do believe that everyone has morals and ethics to live by, and so do you.
We are appealing to you to release the whereabouts of his body to us. We as a family need this so we can fully and properly mourn and grieve him. We are angry about this, but we are not without mercy, even to you.
Be merciful to us now, and in return you can expect a level of forgiveness from us, clemency in the sense that after all that has happened, you did the right thing, after such a wrong thing.
I am sure that you too have families who mean so much to you. Take a few moments to attempt to feel our situation.Would you not want the same thing? I know you all have a conscience, and you too have a heavy burden to bear. Do the right thing, surrender him to us.
We do not believe that you intentionally did this to hurt us as a family. To leave us in this situation, now that you know it, is a crime itself.
As unlikely as this may sound, we need your co-operation so that it can bring about an end to our misery. Please tell us where he is. Do the right thing.
Public Appeal: Our family requires closure to this. Although we cannot seek out to change what has happened, we believe we can influence the final outcome. Collectively as a family, we have decided to come forward to make a passionate plea to the public to help us in any way possible to find our brother’s body.
We are firstly and foremost committed to finding Jeff and retrieving his body. We pray that we will find his body and that we can give him a Christian burial, and lay his remains to rest with his father. We want to have a place to go and to pray for him. We will not rest, nor can we bring any closure to any of this madness, until we do so.
We ask anybody who can be of assistance to help us to find Jeff. The Greater Sudbury Police Service has stated that all information and leads will be investigated.
Jeff Mason was a very real person to us. He had a heart of gold, and was a good man by anyone’s sense of standards. His honesty and integrity meant so much to him and to us all. He had solid values, and so many goals he wanted to reach.
We bear witness of his life to everyone, so as to rally the support of our entire community, the support of its civic leaders, politicians and, anyone at all who can help.
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