In the early hours of a winter morning in Washington, the life of Jian Wei Chan took an unforeseen and alarming turn. At the age of 46, he was a familiar and diligent presence at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, where he was last seen leaving his shift at approximately 1:27 a.m. on February 2, 2009. He was dressed in his work attire, a blue jacket over a white dress shirt and black pants, the uniform of the Emerald Queen Casino.
His colleagues and those who knew him at the casino would have had no reason to suspect that this would be the last time they would see him. The routine of his departure held no hint of the mystery that was about to unfold, a mystery that would leave his family, friends, and law enforcement searching for answers for years to come.
The initial discovery that something was amiss came just a few hours after he left work. By 7:15 a.m. that same day, his vehicle was found, not at an unfamiliar or suspicious location, but in the presumed safety of the parking garage of his own apartment complex at 721 S Lane St in Seattle. The presence of his car suggested he had made it home, or at least very close to it, but he was nowhere to be found. The jarring disconnect between the ordinary discovery of his vehicle and his own inexplicable absence marked the beginning of a long and frustrating investigation for the Seattle Police Department. The case, assigned the number 2009-040828, was officially reported the following day, February 3, 2009, as the reality of his disappearance began to set in.
The days turned into weeks, and the weeks into years, with no sign of Jian Wei Chan. His case became one of the many unsettling and unresolved disappearances that trouble the Seattle area. Despite the efforts of the Seattle Police Department and the circulation of his case through resources like the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System his whereabouts remained unknown. The circumstances surrounding his disappearance are particularly puzzling; there was no overt sign of a struggle, no known enemies, and no indication that he had intended to leave his life behind. The simple, chilling fact is that a 46-year-old man, a dedicated employee and a member of the community, vanished after a routine shift at work. The overview of the case is one of an ordinary life abruptly and inexplicably interrupted, leaving a void of information and a lingering sense of unease for all who knew him and for the investigators who continue to seek a resolution to this troubling cold case.Last Seen: Feb 2, 2009
