Missing Indigenous Women In Canada: Shelley May Anderson, Viola Lagrelle Found, Suzie Clark Found [Updated]
Update: The Vernon Morning Star is reporting that Suzie Clark has been found. Alberta Police Report states that Viola Lagrelle has been found.
Original story: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau mandated that a formal national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women be conducted as one of his first matters of business upon being elected in the fall of 2015.
In February, The Inquisitr reported on the findings of Patty Hajdu, Canadian Minister for the Status of Women, and Minister for Indigenous Affairs and Northern Development Carolyn Bennett with regard to the number of cases of missing indigenous women the inquiry would be looking into.
Going into a fact-finding mission led by Haidu and Bennett, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police had maintained that, since 1980, unaccounted-for and murdered indigenous women numbered near 1,200, whereas the Native Women’s Association of Canada saw the number as high as 4,232. It has been reported that, although aboriginal women only make up 4.3 percent of the Canadian population, they account for at least 16 percent, and possibly more, of all murders.
Authorities in Alberta and British Columbia are currently very concerned about what has happened with 49-year-old Viola Lagrelle and 17-year-old Suzie Clark. [Update: both have been found]
Clark was reported missing to the Vernon/North Okanagan RCMP on March 12. She is described as having brown eyes, shoulder-length brown hair, and standing 4 feet 10 inches tall, possessing a slight build. She was reportedly last seen wearing a jean jacket with a white shirt, grey leggings, Nike shoes, and a backpack. Anyone with information with regard to the location of Suzie Clark is asked to contact the RCMP or to contact the CrimeStoppers tip line: 1-800-222-8477.
Viola Lagrelle was reported have wandered away from the The Centennial Centre For Mental Health and Brain Injury on March 13 by the Wetaskiwin RCMP, as reported by the Alberta Police Report. Lagrelle is said to suffer from a physical ailment leading her to appear as if she is inebriated. The aboriginal woman is described as having straight brown hair of medium length and wearing glasses with thick lenses. Viola is described as weighing 142 pounds and standing 5 feet tall. She was last seen wearing loose-fitting jeans, new white-and-turquoise running shoes, and is thought to probably be wearing a hat. Anyone who sees Viola Lagrelle or knows where she is located is asked to make a report at 1-780-312-7200 with the Wetaskiwin RCMP.
The Ontario Provincial Police have redoubled efforts to learn the fate of Shelley May Anderson, who went missing from Cobalt, Ontario, in September 2009. Anderson, who was 51-years-old at the time of her disappearance, is thought to have last been seen boarding a bus operated by Tri Town Transit headed for neighboring New Liskeard, as reported by the CBC.
A report with Unsolved Canada lists that Anderson, who was also said to have gone by the aliases “Shelley Mae, Shelley Becker, [and] Brenda,” had been discovered to be unaccounted-for when an disability support program worker made reports to police that the woman’s monthly checks were “returned uncashed for the past 12 months” in July, 2010.
This reporting appears to leave a seeming gap of about two months from when Shelley May Anderson last cashed her checks (12 months before July, 2010), and September, 2009, when she is thought to have last been seen. Reports on Anderson’s whereabouts during this period remain elusive.
Unconfirmed sightings are said to have been made in Edmonton, Alberta, at the Klondike Days event in 2014, and in Timmins, Ontario, in 2010.
Investigation continues into missing woman last seen Sep 2009. Any info, contact #OPP or #CrimeStoppers.
MORE: pic.twitter.com/xRskoXdMnu— OPP North East Region (@OPP_NER) March 14, 2016
The OPP describe the missing indigenous woman as having an affinity for cowboy hats and blue jeans, standing about 5 feet 10 inches tall, as having a “husky” build, and having lifelong ties to the Timmins/Schumacher area of northern Ontario.
Anyone with any information as to the whereabouts of Shelley Anderson has been asked to contact the Temiskaming OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or to make a report with CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
[Photo via British Columbia Royal Canadian Mounted Police]
