10/02/10: Arsim Leku, 29, James Bay, BC, Canada

Arsim Leku

Arsim Leku, 29, was last seen by his brother, Arber, on Oct. 2 at 10:30 p.m. who lives on Michigan Street in James Bay, British Columbia. Leku had stopped at his brothers for pizza and beer, and decided to stay the night, as he often does. When Arber got up in the morning, Arsim was gone. His cellphone went to message mode.

"That's very unusual," Arber told The Times Colonist. "He never turns his cellphone off."

The family checked with the police and the hospital, and found nothing.

Arber and another brother, Arton, then spotted their brother's 1995 dark green Neon on the side of the road. The car, which has an "N" on the rear window, was on the 500 block of Beach Drive, near Transit Road in Oak Bay, B.C. It was empty and unlocked, and all that was found in the car was a pack of cigarettes.

A closed-circuit surveillance camera showed Arsim leaving Arber's apartment building at 3:30 a.m. on Oct. 3. It is unknown why Leku left or what occurred after that.

"He just vanished," said Arber.

In early October, divers scoured the waters off Beach Drive near Kitty Islet in an unsuccessful search for Leku.

On Oct. 31, Ursu's body was discovered by boaters in the waters in Oak Bay near Cattle Point around 1:30 p.m. The Times Colonist reported, "Oak Bay police and two Canadian Coast Guard auxiliary vessels responded and were on scene for about two hours."

The clothes and shoes on the body are the same as the ones last worn by Leku--a black fleece jacket, blue jeans, white and yellow runners. His cellphone and keys were found in a pocket.


About Arsim Leku

Arsim Leku has been described as quiet, hard-working and even-tempered. He was a second-year plumber's apprentice working on the Royal Jubilee construction site. He had no history of drug use, history of mental illness, and had never disappeared before. He always kept in touch with his family and others in the tightly-knit Kosovar-Canadian community in the Victoria area.

"He led a very normal life," says Arber.

Arsim shared a home in Gordon Head, B.C., with his his parents, brother Arton and Arton's wife and child.

The family immigrated to the area after being expelled from the home in Pristina, Kosovo during the violence of the Kosovo Conflict. After spending a few months in a Macedonian refugee camp, the family was taken to Canada with just the clothes on their backs. Arsim, who was 18 at the time, ended up graduating from Vic High. He got a job at Victorian Epicure right out of school, where he worked while studying plumbing at Camosun College. He talked about saving enough money to visit Kosovo someday.

Leku's family says his disappearance doesn't make any sense.

"We can speculate all we want," said Arber, "but we have no clue. We just hope somebody saw him that night with the car."

If you have any information, call Sgt. Chris Horsley, Saanich Police, 250-475-4321.


Case Details 
Name/age: Arsim Leku, 29
Last seen: 10/2/10, Michigan Street, James Bay, BC
Recovered: 10/31/10, near Cattle Point, Oak Bay, BC
Residence: Cattle Head, BC, Canada
Physical Description: 5'8", 160 pounds, with short, dark brown hair. He was wearing a black fleece jacket, blue jeans, white and yellow runners.
Investigating Agency: Saanich Police, 250-475-4321, Sgt. Chris Horsley.