Honouring the lost
Police seek public input on the heels of Sisters in Spirit Vigil to honour the North's missing and murdered
Laura Busch
Northern News Services
Published Monday, October 6, 2014
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
Police are hoping a renewed push for information regarding some of the NWT's missing persons will turn up new information.
"What we're trying to accomplish is raising awareness about our missing and helping to generate new information," said RCMP spokesperson Const. Elanore Sturko.
"We want to find out what happened to these missing people.
"We don't want to forget ever that these files and cases, these are real people. These are the loved ones in our community and we want to find them."
G Division police recently added four new missing persons cases to Canada's Missing website, a national database with information on missing persons, and unidentified remains.
Charlene Catholique, a 15-year-old girl from Lutsel K'e who went missing along Highway 3 while trying to catch a ride from Behchoko to Yellowknife in July 1990, was already featured on the site.
While these five cases are by no means a complete list of the territory's missing persons, police reviewed all active missing persons cases and concluded these have the best chance of turning up new information, said Sturko.
On Oct. 3, the Native Women's Association of the NWT held a vigil in Yellowknife that saw a crowd of between 50 and 100 people walk from Ndilo to the Tree of Peace Friendship Centre in the downtown core.
This year's vigil for Canada's missing and murdered aboriginal women comes during a time when the issue is being heavily scrutinized by the public.
While the re-released missing persons cases are not directly tied to the national call for a public inquiry into Canada's missing and murdered aboriginal women, taking a look through the database is something concrete people can do to help find some of these missing women, said Sturko.
"Of course we want to use this time when it is such a topic of conversation to say, 'Look at this. Here is something that you can do to help,'" she said.
"When you're talking in broader numbers, it doesn't really focus the attention on the specific people.
"It's important for us to bring up the names of our missing."
Not all of the re-released cases are for missing women, although all the missing are aboriginal.
Kelvin Smallgeese, 37, was last seen in September 2010 and is believed to have been living in Yellowknife at the time of his disappearance.
"We investigate unbiasedly. It doesn't matter if it's a male or female or what ethnicity," said Sturko.
"We need the public's help in these kinds of cases to encourage all people be involved in helping solve these cases. Not just for women, but for all missing people. These are all people who are loved and missed."
Leona Brule, Mary Rose Keadjuk and Charlene Catholique all went missing before the turn of the century. Now, with tools like the internet, it's possible that people who didn't know they held a vital piece of information will learn about the case, said Sturko.
Anyone who thinks they may have information on any of these cases is being asked to contact police or Crime Stoppers if they wish to remain anonymous.
"Don't ever fear that what you have to say to us is not important," said Sturko.
NWT cases on Canada's Missing website
Leona Brule, missing since March 15, 1989
Leona, 18, of Fort Providence, was reported missing by her mother after she hadn't heard from her daughter in over a year.
Leona was considered transient at the time of her disappearance, and drug and alcohol use or abuse was suspected.
In the 1990s, it is thought Leona may have been on the streets in Edmonton. There is also a possible link with Florida.
Mary Rose Keadjuk, missing since June 28, 1990
Mary Rose, 24, was living at the Gold Range Hotel in Yellowknife at the time of her disappearance.
Her personal belongings were found in her room, including eye glasses she relied upon. Mary Rose may have been pregnant at the time of her disappearance.
Charlene Catholique, missing since July 22, 1990
Charlene, 15, of Lutsel K'e was in Yellowknife to attend an assembly and travelled to Behchoko to visit friends for a few days.
On July 22, she attempted to catch a ride back to Yellowknife and disappeared. She was last seen walking east on Highway 3.
Kelvin Smallgeese, missing since September 4, 2010
Kelvin, 37, was reported missing by a concerned family member in December 2010 after they had not seen or heard from him since September.
Kelvin was believed to be living in Yellowknife at the time of his disappearance. He has a distinctive barbed wire tattoo on his upper right arm.
Angela Meyer, missing since November 27, 2010
Angela, 22, was on a weekend pass from Stanton Territorial Hospital where she was receiving treatment for mental illness when she went missing from her parents' residence.
Angela has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and did not have her medications with her.
She went outside for a cigarette and has not been seen by her family since.
Residents reported seeing Angela walking in the Con Mine area on the day of her disappearance.
For more information on these and other Canadian missing persons cases, visit www.canadasmissing.ca
Source: RCMP G Division
