Carrier Sekani Calls for Inquiry into Highway of Tears

Thursday, December 03, 2009 09:21 AM

Prince George, B.C.- The Carrier Sekani Tribal Council (CSTC) is pleased with the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) decision to endorse an inquiry into the missing and murdered women in the

Downtown Eastside of Vancouver and the Pickton Farm. “This is a very encouraging development as one of Takla Lake First Nation (TLFN) members DNA was found on the Pickton Farm" states Vice Tribal Chief Terry Teegee.

Jacqueline Murdock, a TLFN member, went missing in 1997and her DNA was found on the Pickton Farm in 2004.

"l' m sure the Murdock family is pleased that an inquiry is supported by the VPD and if it does occur, the Inquiry may provide some answers and some closure for the family" stated Vice Chief Teegee.

CSTC Tribal Chief David Luggi stated " This is a good start and it has been a long time coming for the

families to have some sort of venue to ask questions about their loved ones." Luggi says any such inquiry must not end at the Pickton case "Encouraged as we are with this development, there also has to be an

inquiry into the missing and murdered women along the 'Highway of Tears'."

Chief Luggi also commented on a resolution endorsed by the CSTC Council of Chiefs calling for an inquiry, “The CSTC Council of Chiefs want to make it clear to the public that the Highway of Tears murders have

never been solved and some of the cases date back 40 years ago, like in the case of Gloria Moody who went missing in 1969."

Luggi says while there is a need for an inquiry into the Downtown Vancouver east side disappearances or deaths, such an inquiry should not stand in the way of the investigation of the women who have

disappeared or were murdered along Highway 16 “Something has to be done to determine why BC has the highest number of missing and murdered women in all of Canada compared to other provinces.

Little to nothing has been done in terms of solving these murders. A full inquiry is urgently needed now for the families to have questions answered."

Vice Tribal Chief Teegee concluded “We fully support the Carrier Sekani Family Services in the work that they have been doing in Northern B.C. on the Highway of Tears including their call for an inquiry. The

urgency for the inquiry continues as these murders in the north continue unchecked and none of them are being solved."

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Posted on Thursday, December 03, 2009 09:21 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: Loki on December 3 2009 1:23 PM

Human trafficking?

Posted by: Eagleone on December 3 2009 5:07 PM

This is outrageous and someone needs to speak up. I resent the way they liable the whole highway and the people that live and work along it... it has to stop at some point. Northern BC isn't a nest of women murderers and they should stop labeling our communities as such... they have these problems all across Canada (to a much larger extent) from women in high risk behaviors and nowhere else do they label their town with such a hideous marketing tag. If they spend as much time spreading the word about high risk behaviors that these girls were involved in they would probably do more good than slandering a highway with conspiracy theories. The RCMP have said they don't think all those cases are related and that some that were on the list later turned up as run aways in California. Likely these are all isolated incidents with the only common thread being the risky behavior of the women involved.

Yes it is a huge tragedy to have lost these people, and yes we should do everything we can to bring them justice for their loved ones (I think every effort has been made to do that), but the hyperbole stretch of linking these missing women to anything they can attach onto simply for marketing purposes serves no good IMO.

Posted by: Vdesign on December 3 2009 6:18 PM

Surely sooner or later the fact that hitchhiking is not the safest of options will come to people.

It would be nice if you could travel anywhere at anytime without risk for your life, or wellbeing, but until that time I would recommend people take normal precautions.

Posted by: Eagleone on December 4 2009 9:18 AM

I was a little harsh and kind of embarrassed for that last statement of mine. I really get annoyed by the tag 'Highway of Tears', but I guess it means a lot to some people and so....

I wish they would call it the 'missing women coalition' or something, because then it could advocate for all the missing women and not just as if it is central to one geographic location as the only problem spot. I'm sure Quesnel and Dawson Creek and Williams Lake and such have all had their cases as well and who's to say if there was one person responsible that it would limit its options to only one highway? Each individual case is important and they should approach it from that perspective, rather than trying to draw a conspiracy into the equation that does more harm than good.