Father of missing seven-year-old boy speaks out

Andrew Jansen said the last time he saw his seven-year-old son Vincent was around 6 p.m. on July 22.

Earlier in the day, he took his son to a day camp at the Shaw Centre on Saskatoon’s west side. Jansen said he picked Vincent up afterward, and then went with his wife and their daughter to get pizza, and then to Kinsmen Park.

“We just had a really nice time and we rode the little train they have there,” Jansen said, in an exclusive interview with 650 CKOM. “Vincent really wanted to sit in the caboose of that kids train there. I dropped him off with his mom … at about six o’clock, and that’s the last time I saw him.”

On Sunday, July 24, Vincent Jansen and his mother, Dawn Walker, were reported missing by Walker’s co-workers, and Jansen was notified.

Dawn Walker and her son Vincent Jansen (Saskatoon Police Service/Submitted)

“At first I didn’t think anything of it, really, until the following… later on it seemed like something was more serious,” he said. “You’re just extremely concerned. Like, we’ve just been worried for more than a week straight just not knowing anything.”

Jansen and Walker were partners four years ago, he said, and since then Jansen said Walker has tried to move away with the seven-year-old three times, including twice to Ottawa and once to the Victoria area.

“I know that is something that is kind of on her mind, so I’m hoping maybe it was a moment she wasn’t thinking clearly or something, that they just went. I think Dawn has resources that she could do that, but I don’t know,” he said. “They could be anywhere.”

When asked why he thought Walker might try to move away from Saskatoon, Jansen said he wasn’t entirely sure.

“Part of it was work related, but I think part was maybe for a fresh start,” he said.

Members of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations who are close with Walker have alleged instances of domestic abuse at the hands of a former partner. Jansen was adamant he’d never hurt Walker, or anyone else.

“I think it’s a distraction,” he said. “I would never hurt Dawn or Vincent. There’s no truth to any of that, and that’s all I can say.”

Jansen said he’s never faced a criminal charge in connection with Walker or his son. As for why he waited more than a week to speak out after his son’s disappearance, he said he was in shock.

“I didn’t know what was happening. I didn’t know where they were,” he said. “I felt like I didn’t know what to do.”

Jansen said he and his family are grateful for the help of Saskatoon Police, RCMP and the FSIN. He and his family have set up a website at FindVinnie.ca, along with a GoFundMe site linked to the web page.

The GoFundMe page has so far raised more than $31,000 of a $100,000 goal. The money, according to a statement on the page, will go toward a $10,000 reward for information leading to  Vincent’s safe return, hiring a private investigator, and outreach and advertising to help with the search efforts.

“We don’t know where they are, and that’s why it hurts so much,” said Jansen.

“He was a very thoughtful, caring little boy.”