RCMP under investigation after Indigenous woman's body found within a kilometre of where she went missing
Body found almost a month after disappearance; IIO to determine if RCMP action, inaction contributed to death
British Columbia's police oversight agency is determining whether police action or inaction contributed to the death of a woman from the Saik'uz First Nation, after it said her body was found on Nov. 5 within a kilometre of where she was last seen alive almost a month earlier.
The Independent Investigations Office (IIO) is not naming the woman but details of her disappearance and death match those of Chelsey Quaw (Heron), 29, who was reported missing after leaving the home in Saik'uz where she was staying early on Oct. 11.
An aunt told CBC News that Quaw had recently moved to the community, around 85 kilometres west of Prince George, B.C., to stay with her father and two siblings.
At the time of Quaw's disappearance, family and local leadership called for more attention and resources to be directed to the case, saying they feared it was being ignored by police, the public and media because she was Indigenous.
Police say they launched a full-scale investigation into the disappearance but nothing was found until nearly a month later. On Nov. 6, RCMP announced Quaw's body had been found in a wooded area of the community, which has an on-reserve population of about 400 people.
RCMP said parallel investigations into the cause of death would be conducted by both police and the B.C. Coroners Service.
The IIO is now investigating police's involvement in the case, though it is not naming Quaw.
The agency is called in anytime there are concerns police may have played a role in serious harm or death, either through direct action or failure to reasonably act in a way that could have prevented harm.
The IIO says it was notified of concerns around the case on Nov. 26 and indicated they came from a member of the public.
In a release, the agency says it was notified of "concerns regarding the police response to a request for a wellness check for a woman on the Saik'uz First Nation."
It says Vanderhoof RCMP confirmed it was called to conduct a wellness check on Oct. 11 but officers were unable to locate the affected person.
"On Nov. 5, the woman that was subject of the wellness check was found deceased within one kilometre of that same residence," the IIO said.
Family, leaders' concerns about investigation
Family and local leaders had expressed concern about how Quaw's disappearance was being treated by police at several points during the investigation.
In an interview with CBC News on Nov. 3, her mother, Pam Heron, said she was worried her daughter had been stereotyped as a troubled Indigenous girl and didn't feel the RCMP treated her disappearance with enough urgency when she was first reported missing.
At a public meeting held by the Saik'uz First Nation on Nov. 3, leaders from Saik'uz and the Highway of Tears Governing Body called on RCMP to bring in more outside resources to support local search efforts.
The Highway of Tears Governing Body was formed in 2006 in response to a series of cases of women and girls, many Indigenous, who had either gone missing or been killed along Highway 16 between Prince George and Prince Rupert. In total, more than 40 women and girls are associated with disappearances along the 700-kilometre stretch of highway.
Mary Teegee, one of the organization's leaders, said it seems little has changed in the decades since and was critical of RCMP efforts after Quaw was found dead.
"Why were there not RCMP helicopters, why weren't there RCMP dogs, why wasn't there more RCMP boots on the ground?" she asked in an interview with CBC News.
"I don't think that Pam [Heron] should have had to prove that Chelsey was not a drug addict ... Imagine if this was a young white girl out of West Vancouver .. Would the mother have to be [calling for] more RCMP involvement, for more of an investigation?"
WATCH | Teegee speaks about police efforts to find Quaw:
Police said they had done all they could to find Quaw.
In an email sent Nov. 8, RCMP North District spokesperson Cpl. Madonna Saunderson said RCMP air services, police dogs and search and rescue crews were all immediately deployed the day of Quaw's disappearance.
"I am confident that all investigative avenues were explored prior to her discovery and that every effort was made to locate her safe," she wrote.
B.C.'s senior RCMP media relations officer Staff Sgt. Kris Clark told CBC News in an email on Nov. 3 that, "while Indigenous people have historically been over-represented amongst missing persons, I can also tell you that, regardless of their race or gender, the safety and wellbeing of any missing person is the primary concern driving investigative tasks and decisions."
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