New video about missing Winnipeg woman Thelma Krull gives case needed attention
Shawn Cote was inspired to make the video for the family after following the case for months
A video posted on the Thelma Krull Missing Facebook page has been garnering a lot of attention online. Shawn Cote, who lives in Ashern Manitoba, follows the social media page and felt compelled to help.
"A poster is great, but a video and music...you get a real sense of how it must be to live this everyday," said Cote.
Cote, who spent about 20 to 25 hours of her own time working to make the video, said she wanted to do whatever she could to help. She has followed the Krull case since the beginning but realized there were details about the case that she wasn't aware of.
"So I thought why not compile something so that all the information is right there in a video and it's easily accessible and easily shared," said Cote.
"We are so thankful that someone would feel inclined to come up with a new way to help us bring Thelma home," said Connie Muscat, a friend of Krull's and an active member of the search efforts.
Muscat said another poster campaign is in the works for later this month. The family will be seeking volunteers to help make and redistribute posters in the community. Many of the original posters have been taken down in the past few months.
Muscat said social media has been a great way to share information, and has also been a great way of receiving support from the community.
"I get a message of support from someone at least once a day," she said, "People who don't even know her or the family."
Cote runs her own printing and design business in Ashern, which is 184 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg. She has never met the Krull family or Connie Muscat, who runs the Facebook page, but said she feels like she knows them through social media.
"I live in a very small town and everybody here knows who Thelma Krull is," said Cote.
Lisa Besser, Krull's daughter, saw the video Wednesday morning and immediately shared it.
"It's been almost eight months and not a day goes by that I don't think of my mom. It's nice to see that there are other people as well that haven't forgotten and that are making efforts to hopefully find us some answers," said Besser in an email.
"The more people who share this the more possibility that someone will come forward with some tips or answers," she said.
The Winnipeg Police Service is also hoping the video helps keep the case in the public eye and that anyone with information comes forward. But they also caution that anyone posting information on social media be mindful of what they are sharing.
"Just to ensure that they are doing so respectfully, that they are doing so accurately. And ensuring that police are involved, ensuring that contact info is revealed, which it is in this case," said Const. Jason Michalyshen.
"We're embracing social media with respect to getting information out, we're embracing social media as an investigative tool."
